


The Trouble with Nessie

by MiladyDragon



Series: Dragon-Verse: Post-Series Stories [3]
Category: Destination Truth RPF, Torchwood
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dragons, Angst, Dubious Science, Gen, Language, Magic, Second Sight - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-25
Updated: 2019-01-29
Packaged: 2019-09-27 05:16:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 24,818
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17155928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MiladyDragon/pseuds/MiladyDragon
Summary: Josh Gates really had no idea what he was getting into when he approached Torchwood for a job...let alone that the Loch Ness Monster actually existed, and was an alien creature to boot. And that he would be called in to help when she got sick.A sick lake monster?  How was this his life now?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This takes place almost immediately after "Aftermath", and is Josh Gates' first mission for Torchwood. 
> 
> The idea actually came from a comment made by DomIantoRules, about something going wrong with Nessie's cybernetic implants and Toshiko being brought in to help. It turned into a first case for Josh Gates who, in real life (and fic life) is a certified scuba diver, and you'd need one of those for a lake monster, right?

 

**_1 June 2012_ **

**_Torchwood House_ **

**_Aberdeenshire, Scotland_ **

****

Josh Gates leaned against the window of the rented car, watching the scenery roll past, as he and one of his new teammates, Dr Toshiko Sato-Swanson, headed toward Torchwood House, on their way to an assignment that Josh had yet to be clued in on, which was irritating yet exciting at the same time.

Of course, he knew all about Torchwood House; it had been in his initial training briefing when he’d been hired on.  It had been the first of the Torchwood bases, set up by Queen Victoria after she’d been attacked by a werewolf.

A werewolf.

From outer space.

Josh would have freaked out about that if it weren’t so fucking _cool_.

He’d had very little real idea what he would be getting himself into when he’d hopped on that plane just after the Battle of New York, and the subsequent attack on the UN.  All Josh had known was that there was a dragon involved with Torchwood, most likely the very same dragon he’d gone hunting in Cardiff for his now-cancelled television programme, _Destination Truth,_ and he’d wanted to be a part of that sort of thing if a dragon was hanging out there.  He’d been banging around, trying to decide what he’d wanted to do now that his only source of income was gone, and it had seemed like serendipity when he’d caught the news about the fighting going on.

Aliens. In New York.

Well, he’d truly seen his first aliens in Cardiff.  It had led to the memories of every single member of his crew being wiped, along with any evidence they’d gathered...only whatever Torchwood had done hadn’t worked on him.  Plus, he’d gotten quite a speech about the human race not being ready for that sort of knowledge by one Ianto Jones, who’d seemed to understand that better than anyone else.  It had made him realise that it was true, that humanity would have only rationalised it away as a hoax or a publicity stunt, and Josh had let it lie. 

He’d gotten first-hand knowledge of that after the entire planet had been moved.  No one seemed to believe it, and had come up with all sorts of theories to explain it.  It had taken the Battle of New York to prove to many of them that aliens did exist; yet, even now, there were a majority of people out there who hadn’t accepted that the Battle had been real.  That sort of crap made Josh want to bemoan the idiocy of his own people over that.

After all, he was now teammates with Clint Barton, Hawkeye, who’d been on the front lines of the Chitauri invasion. If that wasn’t proof, then Josh had no idea what _was_.

Josh had been doing his training in Cardiff, but he’d already decided he wanted to work on one of the London teams.  His Gran lived nearby, and he thought it would be nice to be close.  Jack Harkness, Torchwood’s Director, had taken both Josh and Clint on, and was putting them through their paces as fast as they could learn.  Luckily, Josh had already been familiar with guns; he’d been taught at a fairly early age, and had only needed refreshers on caring for his own personal weapon...which was in the duffel he’d hurriedly put together once he’d gotten word that he was needed in Scotland. 

As he was the only certified diver in the entire organisation, the assignment had fallen onto him. 

He still didn’t have any idea what that assignment was, however. Because apparently Jack loved to be secretive with newbies and, from what Toshiko had said, liked to see if people would actually follow his orders without questioning every single motivation Jack had, and with very little information…since that happened quite frequently in Torchwood.  She’d claimed it had happened before, the whole questioning of orders thing, although that person didn’t work for Torchwood anymore.  As a matter of fact, Toshiko was totally put out by the whole situation because Jack hadn’t shared with her, either, and hadn’t been afraid to bitch about it on the train trip up.  Josh really hoped that Jack’s ears were burning off from her diatribe.

Whatever it was, it also needed Toshiko on board as well, as Torchwood’s Head Tech.  For the life of him, Josh couldn’t figure out how diving and Tosh’s brand of science was going to mesh, but he’d been promised a briefing once they got to Torchwood House. 

Ianto was there, and he would be the one handling the brief.  Josh had been just a little disappointed that the dragon hadn’t been in Cardiff for his arrival; Jack had explained that, as Head Archivist, it was Ianto who was responsible for preparing the House to become Torchwood’s Main Archive once more; according to his new boss, Torchwood House had been decommissioned for quite a while and now, Her Majesty the Queen of England – their ultimate boss – had decided that it needed to be reopened, and Ianto was the person for the job.  Once that was done, Ianto would be heading back to Cardiff, and there would be someone else in charge of the Archive.

Ianto Jones was a real, honest-to-God, dragon.  Josh had wanted to make embarrassingly loud noises when he’d worked _that_ out.

Sure, he’d known that Ianto Jones was something else, not entirely human, because of his clear empathy with the so-called dragon – or _Torchwood Dragon,_ as Captain America had named him – that Josh and his _Destination Truth_ team had been sent to investigate.  But he hadn’t even dreamed that the man who’d worked for the Welsh Tourism Board, and had been Torchwood’s Second, was the actual creature they’d been trying to locate.  It gave him a thrill to know that there was at least one last dragon out there in the world, but it also really pissed him off that human beings had killed all the rest.

It wasn’t fair how nasty the human race could be, to creatures that never did it any harm, _and_ to its own fellows.

They’d left Cardiff that morning, taking the train to Aberdeen, getting the rental at the station.  It was now growing dark as they approached Torchwood House.  From what Josh could see, it was a truly awesome edifice, all stone, and very old.  The part of him that was purely archaeologist was straining to study the place, including what looked to be some sort of observatory on one of its turrets.

He’d read the information on the House, knew that the observatory was anything _but_.  It was actually some sort of alien werewolf killing device. 

Just how cool was _that_?

That made him want to even more explore the place from top to bottom, to immerse himself in the sheer _history_ of Torchwood House. 

Toshiko parked the late model Peugeot toward the rear of the house, next to a dusty, older Land Rover.  There were two other vehicles parked there as well:  a lorry that had seen better days and a dark blue sedan that he couldn’t tell the make and model of in the growing darkness.

She touched the comm in her ear, activating it.  Josh did the same, not wanting to miss anything.

“Ianto, we’re here,” she reported, getting out of the car.

Josh followed her around to the boot, to help with the bags and equipment, and he heard Ianto answer, “ _I’m in the study.”_

Toshiko accepted her laptop case with a smile.  “Let’s go and see what this is all about, shall we?”

Josh gave her a grin of his own.  “Let’s.”

Neither of them had any idea why they’d been sent to Torchwood House, only that Sir Archie, the man who would someday run the place, had said it was urgent.  Jack had known exactly what was going on, because of the shit-eating grin he’d been wearing when he’d told Tosh to take the ‘new guy’ along with her was an indication of Josh’s new boss being up to no good.  He’d been around Jack only a couple of days when he’d come to recognise that expression.

Toshiko had simply rolled her eyes at Jack’s vagueness, letting Josh know that their boss was sometimes like that and to pay the man no mind, although that hadn’t stopped her from ranting about it on the train up.  In the three weeks he’d been at Cardiff, there were certain things Josh had learned about his new employer, and one of those was that Jack tended to enjoy springing surprises on them from time to time, and that the older team members had long come to expect that sort of thing.

There was also the flirting, but he’d noticed immediately that Jack flirted with everyone.  Rhys Williams had taken him aside and let him know that if it made him uncomfortable, Jack would stop.  He’d reassured Rhys that he was fine, especially since their boss was in a committed relationship with a certain dragon, and had figured out that it was just something Jack did, and didn’t mean anything by it.  Rhys had given him a bright smile, had said that he was glad that Josh had worked it out, and then had claimed that Josh was going to fit right in with the team just fine.

Josh quite liked Rhys.  Especially when it came to finding the best pubs in the area.  The Welshman had assured Josh that Tom in London would be the one Josh would need to speak to about the pubs down there, if that was where he ended up.  Josh had been grateful for that little piece of information.

Torchwood House was ancient on the outside, but on the inside there were many up-to-date features, such as the security system they both had to clear before they could actually enter, the keypad hidden quite discretely behind one of the bricks at the front door.  Bright lighting made the dark wood panelling glow, banishing any shadows that might have lingered in the corners and under the stairs to the upper floors.  Paintings and tapestries that Josh longed to stop and examine more closely lined the walls, depicting both the former lairds of the manor and colourful hunting and domestic scenes from the Middle Ages.  Josh knew he could have spent weeks at the House and not seen all of the historical elements that had survived the centuries.

Toshiko directed Josh to just leave the baggage by the staircase, then to follow her deeper into Torchwood House.  The study was just down the hall from the front door, and had once been a sitting room that had been converted to business use, probably not that long ago either.  A desk took up residence against one wall, opposite the immense fireplace that had seen recent use, judging from the dusty nature of the brass andirons in front of it and the ashy remains on the hearth.

While it was June, they were pretty far north, and it wouldn’t be that warm even in the summer.

Ianto Jones was seated at the desk.  He hadn’t changed at all since Josh had last seen him; still resembling a young man in his early twenties, with dark hair and blue eyes that looked far older than his face.  He was wearing a jumper and jeans, quite a change from the suit he’d worn back when Josh had first met him.  He stood as they entered the room, a welcoming smile lighting his Welsh-pale features.  “Doctor Gates,” he greeted warmly.  “I’m sorry I wasn’t in Cardiff to greet you when you descended onto Torchwood...”  He seemed amused, which Josh counted as a good thing.

“Mister Jones,” he greeted in return, adding his own smile, one that he didn’t bother to temper his excitement in. 

“Please, it’s Ianto.”  He offered a handshake.  His hand was warm, almost too warm, and Josh would have questioned it if he didn’t already know the truth.

“Then, it’s Josh.” 

There was a tiny voice in the back of his mind that was making rather undignified noises at being asked to call a human-shaped dragon by their first name, and Josh just let it do whatever it wanted to.  As long as he didn’t give in to making those noises out loud, he was fine.

“Allow me to introduce you to Penelope Garcia, Toshiko’s Second and primary computer expert here at Torchwood House.”

Penelope Garcia was curvy blonde in a red and black dress that would have had almost too much taffeta in the skirt if it hadn’t seemed to suit her, with a black sweater over the top that was embroidered with bright flowers.  A matching bow held her shoulder-length hair back from her face, and she had cats’ eye glasses perched on her nose.  She was cute, and Josh couldn’t help but smile at her.   “It’s a pleasure, Ms Garcia.”

“None of that, Gorgeous,” she answered, her accent very American, “it’s Penelope.  And I have to admit, I did watch your show with a friend of mine, when we had the opportunity.”  She grinned, dimples appearing.  “Especially the dragon one.”

“Little did I know I’d end up working for that dragon,” he laughed.  That particular episode had been aired a couple of times, but beyond that it was one of the many that didn’t get rerun all that often.

Ianto joined in on the laughter.  “I doubt any of us would have foreseen _that_.”  Then he turned to the second person in the room. “And this is Sir Archibald MacLeish, soon to be in charge here at Torchwood House.”

Sir Archie was shorter than Ianto, but broader in the shoulders.  His curly hair and well-trimmed beard were grey, his eyes blue, and he definitely had the legs for the kilt he was wearing. However, he didn’t seem as welcoming as Ianto and Penelope had been, if the scowl on his face was any indication.

“I dinna like this,” the man growled, crossing his arms over his chest, his Scottish accent thick with disapproval.  “I recall the last time this scoundrel showed up, and it caused all sorts of hullabaloo up at the loch.”

Josh frowned.  The last time he’d been up in Scotland had been for the episode on the Loch Ness Monster, which had turned out to be a bust...much like the majority of their investigations.  He had no idea what sort of ‘hullabaloo’ he and his crew had made; the townsfolk in the village they’d stayed in up at Loch Ness had been nothing but inviting.

“Josh is currently Torchwood’s only accredited scuba diver,” Ianto pointed out, with what sounded like infinite patience.  “His expertise may be needed.”

Ah, so that confirmed what Jack had said, and why a trainee had been ordered up here; there might be some diving involved.  Josh stood a little straighter, glad that his experience could be put to good use.

“I dinna know why ye and Jack hired him in the first place,” Sir Archie pressed.  “An American television presenter?  Really?  What’s to stop him from running off and blurting everything he knows to all and sundry?  He was after _you_ at one point, Ianto.”

Josh was insulted.  Yes, he’d been on TV, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t do the job.  He opened his mouth to say so, but Toshiko beat him to it.

“That’s not fair,” she exclaimed.  “Josh is both an archaeologist and a cryptozoologist.  He has an open mind and he cares.  He’s not here for any sort of story or exclusive; he really wants to help.”

Josh was a little surprised at her vouching for him; he’d gotten the impression that Toshiko was tolerating him because Jack and Ianto had hired him.  Well, that attitude had thawed a lot in the time he’d been working with Torchwood, but there were still times when he thought she still didn’t quite approve of him.

“Archie,” Penelope cut in, “I’ve seen the background check that was run on Josh the moment he showed up in Cardiff... _both_ times.  It was really impressive.”

Well, that didn’t surprise Josh in the least, that they’d run checks on him before officially hiring him.  He would have been disappointed if they hadn’t! 

“Plus, I’ve seen his show,” she added.  “It was all about preservation, not exploitation. Sure, he did it for an audience, but there was always that sense of wonder and adventure, and you just can’t fake that.”

It was time for him to defend himself, although Josh really appreciated the way they were standing up for him.  “I’m not sure what I’ve done to make you mad at me, but I can promise you I’ll only do the best job I can for Torchwood.  I _do_ want to help, and that means abiding by all that damned paperwork I had to sign before Jack even let me inside the Hub.  I’m not going to betray Torchwood secrets to anyone.  Nor am I going to hurt anyone unless I’m provoked.  Protecting innocent humans and aliens is my goal and, if I get to meet new races and learn from them, so much the better.”

Sir Archie didn’t seem mollified by Josh’s assurances.  “I don’t trust ye around Nessie, and that’s all there is to it.”

What?

“This is about Nessie?” Toshiko asked.

Ianto sighed.  “You mean Jack didn’t explain?”

“No, he didn’t, because you know how he is about dropping surprises on people to see how they react.” The eyeroll she gave would have been epic if Josh wasn’t too busy being shocked to notice.

_What??_

Josh realised that he’d said that out loud when everyone stared at him.  A small voice in the back of his mind wondered just how high-pitched his voice had gone, because it had to have been shrill.

“Gods and Goddess and Great Dragons,” Ianto groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose.

Sir Archie had the sheer gall to laugh in the face of Josh’s confusion.  The bastard.

“Are you saying…and I just want to make sure I’ve got this right…”  And then, he couldn’t say it.

Penelope seemed to be the one to take pity on him. “Yes, the Loch Ness Monster really exists.”

Oh my God.

They were telling him that the Loch Ness Monster was _real_.

Josh suddenly needed to sit down.

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Yeti footprint mentioned by Josh actually happened on "Destination Truth: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-nepal-yeti/footprints-seen-around-mt-everest-stoke-yeti-mystery-idUSDEL830620071130
> 
> (Can't do pretty links, darn it!)
> 
> And no, he doesn't know yet that the Yeti actually exist...

 

**_1 June 2012_ **

**_Torchwood House_ **

**_Aberdeenshire, Scotland_ **

 

Toshiko pressed him down into one of the chairs.  Josh wanted to thank her, but his brain wouldn’t let go of the shock that Torchwood had known about the Loch Ness Monster and had probably hidden her away from anyone who’d wanted to find her.

Did this mean that Nessie was an alien?  Or something else entirely?

It registered with Josh that Ianto was apologising.  “I had no idea that Jack was going to send you up here blind, or else I would have handled the reveal a little better.  Believe me, he will be hearing about it.”

“Here.”  Someone – Penelope – pressed a brandy snifter into his hand, and Josh took a sip.  He wasn’t really a brandy sort of person, but in that moment he needed it.

One of the very first mysteries he’d wanted to try and discover the truth about had been the Loch Ness Monster.  Josh remembered that his executive producers and the suits at the studio hadn’t wanted him to, thinking it was just a little too cliché when there were other, lesser known, cryptids out there to search for, but Josh had insisted.  The Loch Ness Monster was iconic, he’d argued, and any explorer worth their salt did at least one search for the monster at some point in their career. 

It had taken them finding that footprint during the search for the Yeti in Nepal that had given Josh the leverage he’d needed to get the go-ahead and try for the Loch Ness Monster.  The network had been disappointed that they hadn’t had the same success they’d had in Nepal, but Josh hadn’t been all that upset.  After that case, he’d sworn that one day he’d go back, but then his show had gotten cancelled and he’d found himself out of a job.

Until he’d seen a certain dragon fighting alongside the Avengers against what he now knew were the Cybermen.

“Sorry,” he said, “but that was a bit of a surprise.” _Understatement much?_

“I was hoping Jack would have given you some sort of briefing,” Ianto apologised once more.  “But he has these notions of tossing people into the deep end and letting them sink or swim.”

“Chances were,” Toshiko added, “he was also playing a bit of a joke on you.”

Josh snorted.  “He did a pretty good job.”

Leaning back in his chair, he met Ianto’s ancient eyes.  “And I’m pretty sure this isn’t going to be the biggest shock I’ll have in this job.”

The dragon smirked.  “And you would be correct.”

“Now that we’ve managed to nearly freak out the new guy,” Toshiko jumped in, “care to explain to us just what I’m doing here?  Since I know what Josh is needed for now.”

“A little background, first,” Ianto suggested, “since Jack didn’t bother to give Josh any.”

“I still don’t like it.”  Sir Archie had lost his good humour as quickly as he’d gotten it, it seemed.

“You’re overruled.  Jack and I trust Josh implicitly.  He won’t do anything to hurt or exploit Nessie.  We never would have hired him if we’d believed he was just looking for a story.”

The Scotsman subsided, but Josh could tell he still wasn’t happy.

“First of all,” Ianto began, “Nessie isn’t from Earth.  She was brought here by a shape-changing alien race known as the Zygons.  She’s actually a creature known as a Skarasen, and does have a remarkable resemblance to a terrestrial plesiosaur, with some fairly major differences…like the fact that she’s actually a cyborg, with technology grafted onto her in various places.”

“Back in the 70’s,” Penelope added, then frowned, “or the 80’s, depending on who was doing the actual dating at the time – UNIT dating protocols suck, by the way – the Zygons tried to conquer the planet, and one of the things they did was set Nessie onto oil rigs out in the North Sea.  They had these devices that would call her, and then she would break the rigs apart trying to stop the signal, since it was painful to her.”

“They were hurting her?” Josh couldn’t believe what he was hearing.  Nessie was actually an alien beast; which made sense since Torchwood was apparently looking out for her.  That she’d been used in some sort of plot to take over the world, and had been injured in the process…he felt outraged on her behalf.  “I hope those Zygons got their asses handed to them.”

That had Ianto chuckling; Sir Archie looked a little intrigued, as if he was really seeing Josh for the first time.  Probably because of his defence of Nessie.  “They did.  However, that left us with Nessie.  Sir Archie took over her care, once we knew she was still there at the loch, and has done a wonderful job at it.  He adores Nessie, as do we all.”

“I’ve tried to do my best,” Sir Archie replied.  “But I dinna have the technical know-how at the moment to help her.”

Toshiko leaned forward.  “Technical?  Is there a problem with Nessie’s cyborg interfaces?”

“Aye, lass.” The Scotsman looked bereft.  “When I went up to the loch last week to check on her, I noticed something wrong with one of the crystallographic nodes on her anterior power pathway.  It must have started failing recently, or else I would have noticed before.”  He sighed.  “I’d had to put off my usually scheduled trip up to the loch for several weeks, what with Ianto having to go to Washington DC.  I’d been prepared to milk her; it was time, but then this issue made itself known so I put that off, not knowing if the process would make it worse. I simply don’t have the technical wherewithal to fix what’s breaking down, and she’s in pain.”

“We’ll see what we can do.” Toshiko rested her hand on Sir Archie’s arm in comfort.

Josh nodded.  He might not be any sort of technician, but he knew how to work underwater, and was willing to help in whatever way he could.  He could see how much Nessie meant to the older man, who’d been caring for her for years, and there was a large part of him that didn’t want to disappoint Sir Archie, no matter his opinion on Josh being a member of Torchwood.  It was a chance to prove that he could be a part of the team, although that really wasn’t the important thing here.  Jack and Ianto already thought he would be, as did Patrick…who’d come up to Cardiff and had started a campaign to get Josh down to London for his own team.  Josh knew that Clint would already be going to London, because Patrick was family, and he, himself, had pretty much already decided to do the same, but it was gratifying that both Jack and Patrick seemed to want to fight over him.

Although after what Jack had just pulled, if Josh hadn’t already been inclined to go to London…

“We didn’t have the gear needed for you,” Ianto said, “so I requisitioned some from the Royal Navy.  It arrived this morning.  I take it you’d like to go over it before heading up to the loch in the morning?”

“Yeah, might not be a bad idea.”  Josh was familiar with what he’d used on the show; before even setting a single foot in the water, he wanted to check out what he’d be dealing with.  Not that he doubted the Royal Navy; it was just that it was unfamiliar equipment and he didn’t want to risk his life – or Nessie’s, for that matter – on something occurring that could have been avoided if only he’d taken the time to see what he’d been given to use.

“Penelope, you mind showing Josh where the gear was stowed?”

“Not at all, Boss Dragon.  I can introduce him to Oscar at the same time, since he’s gonna be the one handling the medical side of things.”

“Excellent idea.”  Ianto stood.  “Thank you for your willingness to help.”

“Are you kidding?” Josh exclaimed.  “I get to help out my very first cryptid…which, I suppose, isn’t really a cryptid at all.  It’s like my birthday and Christmas all came at once.”

The dragon laughed at that.  “It’s good to know you’re so easily pleased.”

“Not so easy, but it’s Nessie…” Josh shrugged.  “If there’s anything I can do, I’m gonna do it.”

Sir Archie still looked uncertain, despite Josh’s determination to help, and he figured there wasn’t going to be a lot he could do to change the man’s mind until he could prove himself.  He just felt lucky that the man’s opinion hadn’t counted in Jack and Ianto’s decision to hire him, because Josh, despite only being with Torchwood for a couple of weeks, felt like he never wanted to work anywhere else.

And knowing that the Loch Ness Monster really existed – and was an actual alien cyborg, of all things – was just the icing on the cake.

“Come on,” Penelope said, grinning up at him, “let’s get you down to the garage, where Ianto had the scuba gear stowed.  I’ll have Oscar meet us there.”

With that, she left the study.  Josh followed her, tuning out the discussion between Ianto, Toshiko, and Sir Archie as he went along with her.  Penelope led him down the hall toward the rear of the house, and he took the opportunity to look around at Torchwood House, admiring the original panelling and design, just letting his archaeologist soul drink it all in.  Yes, he wasn’t as knowledgeable with architecture, but he’d taken some courses while going for his degree, so he was passing familiar with how such great houses were built.

“How do you like it so far?” Penelope inquired, as they passed through a large kitchen that someone had had installed with the latest in appliances.  The large, open brick oven was still visible, only someone had decided to use it as a cookbook storage instead of for its original purpose.

“Torchwood?” he confirmed.  When she nodded, he couldn’t help the grin that spread all over his face.  “It’s fantastic.  I knew there were things out there no one understood…I mean, I made a living on just that sort of premise, after all.  But Torchwood is something else entirely.”

“Oh, believe me, I understand. I got poached from the FBI a couple of years ago, by Patrick who happened to remember meeting me once, back when he was with the Bureau.  I was working for the BAU – sorry, the Behavioural Analysis Unit – doing their tech stuff, and I thought I understood how the world worked.  God, was I wrong.  None of my friends at the BAU would believe what I’m doing now, not that I could tell them.  Well, Spencer _might_ , but he’s a nerd of epic proportions.”  She laughed. 

Josh joined her.  He thought back about the people he’d worked with and, while each and every one of them were opened-minded, he had to wonder if they’d all accept what he was doing now.  He remembered back to their case back in Cardiff, and how everyone had reacted…and thought they might have accepted it, after all.

Penelope touched her comm, calling to Oscar to meet them in the garage.  The voice that echoed from Josh’s own comm…had the man actually just sounded like James Earl Jones?

He had to ask.

His guide laughed again.  He _really_ liked her laugh.  “No, I can promise you that James Earl Jones does not work here under a pseudonym.  However, Oscar is one of our resident aliens, and he uses a translator that only makes him _sound_ like James Earl Jones.  Tosh offered to reprogram it, but Oscar’s seen all the _Star Wars_ movies and has definite _opinions_.”

“You mean I’m going to get to meet an alien?”  Josh didn’t even mind that his voice squeaked.

He’d met a couple aliens during his training in Cardiff, especially the Weevils that lived in the sewers below the city, but this would be the first time he’d actually get introduced to one who worked for Torchwood.  Jack had said they did, mostly up at Torchwood House where they could work and live without drawing attention to themselves, but hadn’t elaborated on just who those aliens were.

Penelope laughed at him, and he didn’t mind one little bit.  “Just to warn you: Oscar looks like he could eviscerate you, but he’s actually the sweetest person you’ll ever get to meet.  So, don’t be afraid when he smiles.”

“That doesn’t sound ominous _at all_.”

She snorted.  “You’re going to love him.  We all do.”  She patted his arm comfortingly.

Josh took her word for it.  There was something about Penelope Garcia that made him _need_ to.  He might have only known her for less than an hour, but Josh found himself liking her immensely.  She was bubbly, and friendly, and he was pretty sure she was a genius, if she was Toshiko’s Second.  It took a really special sort of person to be able to handle what Toshiko did every day, and Penelope did it from Torchwood House, away from Cardiff and London where all the action happened.  She worked remotely, and that also had to take a lot more discipline than Josh probably would ever have.

The garage really didn’t seem like one.  There weren’t any cars in it; it looked as if it had been converted from an old stable, with thick stone pillars spaced evenly about the open area.  It was partitioned off into two sections, although the partition itself was little more than a stone wall that was about waist high.   On one side was an ancient looking tractor, while the other had been set up as some sort of work space, with a long wooden bench that had seen better days and several tall cabinets that Josh figured held tools.  There were no windows in the space; Penelope had flipped on a light switch as they’d stepped into the garage, which had turned on several fluorescent fixtures hanging from the tall ceiling. 

Against the wall in the workshop area, sat a large crate with the symbol of the Royal Navy stencilled on its side.  Without having to ask, Josh headed over toward it, noticing that someone had already pried the lid off, and it had been set against one side of the crate and out of the way.  Josh peered down into the inside, grinning as he saw more scuba equipment than he knew what to do with arranged neatly within.  There were at least ten tanks, as well as two different types of wetsuits – one heavily insulated against the cold, which he knew very well he would have to deal with up at Loch Ness, despite it being summer. 

He would have continued his inventory, but it was obvious that someone else had entered the garage.  There was a clicking sound against the bare stone of the floor, and Josh glanced up, figuring that he’d either heard a really large rat, or it was this Oscar that Penelope had summoned to meet them.

Jaw dropping, Josh took in the new arrival.

Hell, it was a _velociraptor_.

It stood about five feet tall, with brightly coloured feathers lining the undersides of strong-looking arms that ended in clawed, three-fingered hands.  An equally colourful mane of feathers floated about the head, which came with a long snout that was currently smiling, revealing very dangerous-looking teeth.  The feet were also three-toed, with a large claw on the middle toe.  The hide of the velociraptor was all in shades of green, glittering faintly under the bright lights.

“You must be Dr Gates,” the velociraptor greeted him, and yes…there was James Earl Jones, the voice coming from a small black box strapped to the alien’s torso.  “I am called Oscar.”  He held out a hand.

Josh accepted the handshake, not even bothered to hide the awed grin that made his cheeks hurt, it was so broad.  “Nice to meet you!” he managed to say, his words a little garbled by his shock and joy at finally meeting an alien that actually worked for Torchwood.  “And it’s Josh.”

Penelope was amused by the whole thing.  “God, I love working here.”

That was mutual.

“Welcome to Torchwood,” Oscar said.  His smile got a little wider, if that was possible, and a little bit scarier if it wasn’t for the fact that Josh was charmed by the entire situation.  “Penelope gladly arranged for me to have episodes of your television programme available for my perusal, when it became common knowledge that you had been hired.  I was quite impressed.”

Oh, God, the velociraptor was a _fan_. 

That was _awesome_.

Josh had to clear his throat before speaking.  “Thanks.  At least you’re not questioning my motives for being here.”

He hadn’t known until that moment that an intelligent velociraptor could roll their eyes.  “Do not mind Sir Archie.  He is concerned about Nessie, and it is putting him in a foul mood.”

“Yeah,” Penelope agreed.  “Don’t worry about it.  You’ll help with Nessie and he’ll be golden.  You wouldn’t be here if Jack and Ianto didn’t think you could handle it.”

He was glad they had that faith in him.  “So,” he changed the subject, “you’re the medical end of things?”

“Indeed.,” Oscar answered.  “One of my specialities is biology, and I know someone I can contact if I become out of my depth.”

Penelope grinned.  “Jemma?”

Oscar nodded.  “She extensively studied Nessie’s biology when she and Fitz were stationed here.  I have already sought permission from Ianto to call her if needed.”

Josh was curious.  “Does this Jemma work for Torchwood, too?” He knew he hadn’t met everyone in the Institute yet, so he was looking forward to finding out just who this Jemma was.

“No, Jemma works for SHIELD.  She and Fitz were a part of the exchange programme between the two agencies.  At the moment, we have one SHIELD scientist here: Dr Peter MacBride.  You will most likely meet him at some point, but at the moment he is on leave in Glasgow.  He is more of an historian than anything, so he would not be of any use with this.”

Josh had heard about the Torchwood/SHIELD exchange programme, knowing that there were other SHIELD agents with the London team at the moment.  Apparently there had been yet another SHIELD agent in Cardiff, but their assignment had ended, and they had gone back to Washington DC.  Josh remembered the expression of relief on Clint’s face and, after what he’d heard about the circumstances of the Battle of New York, he could understand.  He didn’t get why people would hold it against Clint for being kidnapped and brainwashed by an alien who’d claimed to be some sort of god, but there it was.

Also…Norse Gods were really aliens.  How was this his _life_?

“Can we go over some of what I’ll need to know while I check out this equipment?” Josh asked.  “I want to know what I should avoid, and what I should look for, if I need to get up close and personal.”

“Certainly.”  Oscar seemed pleased that he’d asked.  “Nessie is quite personable; however, you will need to beware of certain things…”

Josh began pulling the gear out of its crate, as an alien velociraptor explained the dos and don’ts of approaching a lake monster in their natural habitat.

 

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope everyone has a Happy New Year!

 

**_2 June 2012_ **

**_Loch Ness_ **

**_Scottish Highlands_ **

****

Toshiko climbed out of the passenger side of the lorry Archie had driven to Tulloch, stretching her legs after the ride up to the loch.

They’d needed the lorry because Oscar simply didn’t fit well in a conventional vehicle, not even the older Land Rover that was the property of the Institute and that Archie loved so much.  Oscar had said he would have been fine, but to Toshiko’s surprise Josh had stepped up and claimed they’d need the lorry for his equipment…and he’d been right, of course.  Ianto had requisitioned a tonne of gear from the Royal Navy and, even with Josh’s expert paring down, it had still ended up being quite a lot.  Add to that the scientific equipment…yes, the lorry _had_ been needed. 

Josh was handling things well.  Toshiko had had some doubts about their newest recruit; after all, Archie had been correct in one thing: Josh Gates _had_ been a television presenter, with no real experience in what Torchwood did.  She’d been a bit irritated about that first time he’d been in Cardiff, since he’d been there to hunt down her best friend, and had been surprised when he’d managed to throw off the Retcon.  And, when he’d suddenly appeared in Cardiff, looking for a job, she’d been more of Archie’s mindset than Jack and Ianto’s. 

In the last three weeks, however, he’d very nearly completely turned her opinion around.  Josh had proved to be hard-working, as well as intelligent and willing to learn.  He and Clint seemed to get along like a house on fire, and Toshiko could see the pair of them giving Patrick all sorts of grief in London, if that was where they both ended up. 

Josh had only been thrown for a loop a couple of times in his training, but he hadn’t let it derail him from whatever task Jack had set for him.  And, when this mission had come up, he’s accepted it even though Jack had been decidedly cagey about what they would be doing.  Jack hadn’t even said much to Toshiko herself, which was irritating but she could tell a training exercise when she saw one.  So, she’d gone along, letting Jack dictate what they knew – and didn’t know – although what it had actually been hadn’t been something Toshiko had considered. 

Nessie was sick.

Everyone in Torchwood and in the village of Tulloch – despite what had occurred there all those years ago – loved Nessie.  She remembered when Archie had gone on the tear about the major television crew going up to the loch, with all sorts of specialised gear, and how he’d had to actually get Nessie out to the North Sea through the channel to the ocean that lay under the surface of Loch Ness.  That had been Josh’s team back then, so she could understand why the Scotsman was a bit put out by Josh’s hiring.

Still, Toshiko knew that she might need the help.  If Nessie got too sick to surface before she could fix or replace the implant…they would still need to beach her, in order to perform whatever surgery would be needed to get to the affected region of her power nodes.  Hopefully it wouldn’t be too serious, and it would be something she and Oscar could fix.

No one wanted to lose their resident Skarasen.

The lorry shifted slightly, the sound of the rear door opening sounding over the nearly deserted parking lot of The Fox Inn, where they would be staying.  Torchwood had standing reservations there; they only needed to give fair warning that they were coming, and the landlord, Angus MacRanald, would have everything ready for them.  This time, Toshiko knew he was as upset about Nessie’s health as the rest of the village, and would do everything in his power to help, even if it was only to keep them in the good local brew, his wife’s excellent cooking, and clean sheets.

“This is nice,” Josh observed, coming to stand beside her, his hands full of equipment cases.  He’d been riding in the back of the lorry with Oscar, to keep the scientist company.  “When I was up there, we stayed in Drumnadrochit, where the Exhibition Centre is.”

Toshiko was familiar with the place, and for very good reason Torchwood stayed clear.  The place was a Loch Ness Monster mecca, and there were tourists and scientists there for quite a bit over the monster-hunting season…which was late spring to early fall, when the weather wasn’t too bad out on the water.

Nessie stayed away as well, and she hardly ever got caught on camera anymore.  But then, Toshiko believed even she got tired of all the fuss surrounding her existence.  Nessie would rather live in peace, and the people of Tulloch took care of her, making sure no one saw her.    

“It’s not hard to see why this was the forward base to an alien invasion,” he continued.  “It’s isolated and away from the tourist traps.”

He had a point.  “The Zygons were shapeshifters,” she pointed out, “and so they blended in fairly well.”

“Not well enough that they weren’t finally found out.”

Toshiko conceded that he had a point. 

“This place just oozes history.  I would love to spend some time here and just poke around in the local lore.” Josh shifted the cases slightly, reminding Toshiko that they were fairly heavy.

“It is a nice place to visit,” Oscar replied.  He was wearing a fleece jacket that had been specially made for him, to ward off the cold; even though it was June there was a sharp breeze off the loch.  He didn’t usually wear anything, relying on his feathers and his scales to keep him warm, but then he did spend a great deal of time in the labs at Torchwood House, in climate-controlled conditions.  “The people here accept my presence easily.”

“Yeah,” Josh sympathised, “it can’t be easy getting out and about for you.”

“No, it is not.  So, finding a place that will let me walk about without anyone screaming is a bonus.”

Toshiko could tell he was joking a little; obviously, so could Josh, because he barked a laugh.  “At least they’re not asking for your autograph.”

Oscar looked at him innocently. “I can do that if it would make you feel more at home.”

Josh grinned.  “I think I sprained my wrist signing all the forms I needed to when I got hired on, so no thanks.”

“Come on, you lot,” Archie growled, “let’s get the equipment up to our rooms and then I’ll go and call Nessie.so we can start the initial scans.”

Josh looked interested.  “I’d certainly like to see that, if it’s fine with you.”

Ever since he’d learned that the Loch Ness Monster really existed, the former television presenter had been looking forward to meeting her.  Penelope had claimed that he’d say things like, “I can’t believe she’s real” and “The Loch Ness Monster is real” at random intervals; she’d overheard him while they’d been working in the garage, and once coming out of the toilet of all places.

Why Penelope had been loitering outside one of the toilets was something Toshiko hadn’t wanted to ask about. 

But then, Josh could appreciate it.  After all, he’d made his living searching for cryptids, and to find one must seem like a miracle to him.  Penelope had been correct, last night, about Josh wanting to preserve more than exploit.  It was just a shame that he’d needed a television programme in order to fulfil that need.

Archie sighed, resigned. “Of course, Dr Gates.”

He might have seemed to be tolerant of Josh’s presence, but Toshiko could tell that her newest teammate was beginning to grow on the older Scotsman.  She really could see his point, but at the same time she’d been around Josh for nearly three weeks now, and her own reluctance at having him as a part of Torchwood had oozed away in the face of his pleasant attitude and his excitement at seeing what was out there.  His might have been an unconventional hiring, but Josh Gates belonged in Torchwood. She knew that now.

Together, the four of them headed into the inn.  Toshiko always found herself comparing it to the Green Dragon Inn in Ddraig Llyn; they both followed the same basic design, but the Green Dragon was considerably older but a lot less old-fashioned thanks to Rhiannon Jones-Davies and her management of the place now that Ianto was gone from the valley all the time.  The Fox Inn was much more conventional, holding onto its medieval identity even in the 21st century…although it did have Wi-Fi, thanks to Torchwood. 

The front room smelled of woodsmoke and whatever was cooking out in the kitchens, and the air settled about Toshiko like a warm cloak.  Even though it was June, it was still chilly up in the Highlands, and there would be fires burning all day to keep the lobby and dining room warm. 

Angus MacRanald was waiting for them at the reservation desk.  It was original to the inn, and only the computer that sat on the ancient wood gave away that it was actually the present and that they hadn’t accidentally stepped into some sort of time warp.

Toshiko had done that before, getting stuck in a time warp, and she didn’t recommend it.

The buck that had always been hanging above the desk was still there.  It had always given Toshiko the creeps.

As usual, the older Scotsman greeted them warmly, but it was obvious he was worried.  “We’re glad to see ya,” he said, his brogue even stronger than Archie’s.  “We’re all hoping ye’ll be able to fix whatever’s wrong with our girl.”

“We’ll do our best, Mr MacRanald,” Toshiko assured him.

“Aye, I’m sure ya will, Miss Tosh,” the proprietor answered stoutly.  “We all have faith in Torchwood.”

Sometimes she had to wonder if people had a little too _much_ faith in them, but Toshiko wasn’t about to say anything against it.  After all, it was nothing to tell anyone that they’d do what they could; she just wasn’t able to promise that they’d be able to fix whatever was wrong.

“This is Dr Josh Gates,” she introduced their newest member.  “He’s only been with Torchwood for a couple of weeks, but he’s our certified diver.”  She turned to Josh, who’d set the cases down on the faded carpet.  “Josh, this is Angus MacRanald, he’s the proprietor here.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Josh said, holding his hand out, “I only wish it were under better circumstances.”

Angus accepted the handshake.  “As do I, Doctor…”

Suddenly, his dark eyes unfocused, and Toshiko could see the unmistakable yet faint glitter of gold in their depths.  “Ye’re a child of the Blue Angels,” he murmured.

Josh blinked once, surprised.  “Excuse me?”

“Ye’re family line goes back to the coming of the Blue Angels,” Angus went on in an almost sing-song manner.  “Ye’ll be called upon to take on ye’re ancestral powers soon, Joshua Gates.  Don’t be afraid when it happens, as it will lead ye and yours to a greater destiny far into the future.”

With that, Angus blinked, as if he was waking up from a nap.

More like a trance, really.

“What just happened?” Josh asked warily, withdrawing his hand as soon as Angus let go.

“Mister MacRanald is the seventh son of a seventh son,” Toshiko explained, knowing that her teammate would understand that reference.

Archie was intrigued; but he was also wary as he stared at Josh, looking as if he was trying to put together what Angus had said with what he knew about Josh.   “What did that mean, Blue Angels?”

“I have no idea…” Josh murmured, his own face contemplative as he digested what Angus had just said.

“I have never seen your second sight utilised before,” Oscar said excitedly.  “That was quite fascinating, Mr MacRanald.”

“Thank ye, Oscar,” the proprietor shrugged, “but not at all certain what it means, either.” He seemed unsettled by the whole thing.

Some might have scoffed at someone having the second sight, but Toshiko knew differently.  With her connection to the Earth Dragon, she could sense the magic that had burst forth upon Angus touching Josh, and knew it was a true seeing.  As soon as they got back to Cardiff – or Torchwood House, if she couldn’t wait that long – she was going to do a search on the term, Blue Angels, and see what mainframe might have in the depths of her memory.

“The longer I’m in Torchwood,” Josh declared, “the less surprised I am by what happens.”  He nodded to Angus.  “Thank you for your gift, Mr MacRanald.  I’ll do the best I can to work out what to do when the time comes.”

Angus looked a little surprised by Josh’s words, as well as touched.  “No one’s ever thanked me before, lad.  Usually they roll their eyes and forget all about it.”

“I can’t pretend to understand it, but I’ve seen some strange things, even before I came to Torchwood.  Second sight is just one more impossible thing to believe before breakfast, to _severely_ paraphrase Louis Carroll.”

Toshiko had to admit she was impressed by his casual acceptance of Angus’ prophecy.  But one of the things she’d noticed about Josh was his open mind…and yet, it wasn’t so open that he accepted _everything_.  He still questioned what he didn’t understand, which was a good thing.

Besides, to someone with his educational background and his personal interests, perhaps a person having the second sight wasn’t so unbelievable, after all.

“Ye’re rooms are at the top of the stairs,” Angus said, reaching behind him to the cubby hung on the wall behind the desk and pulling out several room keys.  “Lunch will be in about an hour, so if ye’re hungry come on into the dining room and the Missus will be happy to serve ye.”

“Thanks, Angus,” Sir Archie said, taking the keys and passing them round.  He did seem a little hesitant giving Josh his key, but then Angus’ little show appeared to make him a bit uneasy.  Toshiko would need to get that out of the way, if they were going to be working together.  She couldn’t have any member of her team feeling marginalised.  The last thing she needed was for them to not get along and Nessie suffer for it.

“No problem, Sir Archie,” the man said magnanimously.  “At least I know Torchwood pays their bills.”

 _Unlike UNIT_ , was the unspoken continuation to that sentence.  Angus still held that grudge, even after so long. 

Not that Toshiko could blame him.  She still held her own grudges, but then UNIT was on the way out, and would be gone from the UK soon.  She was looking forward to it.

“Let’s meet back down here in ten minutes,” Toshiko said.  “Then we’ll head out to the loch.”

Archie, Josh, and Oscar all agreed readily.

The four of them trooped up the stairs, each carrying something from the lorry.  There was still equipment inside, but Toshiko trusted the villagers with its safety.  The citizens of Tulloch were practically Torchwood themselves, what with their connection to Nessie and their need to protect her.  That could have gone so wrong, after the Zygons had set her on innocents, but the folk around these parts understood that it hadn’t been Nessie’s fault, that the Zygons had used her for their own ends, and once they’d been defeated the so-called monster had returned to her natural, peaceful, state.  She was more like a gigantic pet now that a horrible creature terrorising the oil rigs out in the North Sea.

Toshiko’s room was next to Oscar’s.  It was comfortable and clean, with a large four-poster bed against one wall and a window that looked out over the moor.  The comforter, she knew, was pure down and the bed would be amazingly soft. 

Setting her laptop case down on the bed and her case on the rack made for it, Toshiko sighed, wishing she could get in a nap before going out to the loch, but they really needed to get a start on diagnosing what was going on with Nessie’s implants. 

Turning her back on the bed, Toshiko left the room, in order to meet the rest of her team down in the lobby.

 

 


	4. Chapter 4

 

**_2 June 2012_ **

**_Loch Ness_ **

**_Scottish Highlands_ **

****

Josh took a deep breath of cold, damp air, his eyes looking out over the placid loch, it just cloudy enough that he didn’t need his sunglasses as he took in his surroundings.

Tulloch was a tiny hamlet, one that practically oozed history from every stone and tree.  He had to wonder just what had occurred in this place over the centuries, and the archaeologist in him was itching to explore _everything_.

But there was the Loch Ness Monster, and the eternal child within him was overriding the scientist, making what would have been the most embarrassingly excited noises _ever_ if he wasn’t holding it all inside. There was no way in hell he was going to leave this spot until he’d seen her, and not even the historical value of the village that took care of her was enough to tempt him away.

Then there was Mr MacRanald’s second sight, which was something he could think about while he waited, because it meant he wouldn’t have to go anywhere. 

He had no idea what it had meant, all that stuff about Blue Angels, but he did intend on finding out at some point. However, he didn’t doubt the truth of the seeing; Josh did believe in that sort of thing, about people with special abilities, and had even before having his horizons broadened by several alien incursions which had led to his petitioning for a job with Torchwood.  There was just too much out there that was unexplained, and he’d been in the business of exploring just that.  He’d sat in supposed haunted places, experienced the unknown, and he knew better than to close his mind to _any_ possibility.

Hell, he still watched all sorts of ghost hunting shows.  A lot of that was faked for the cameras, and Josh always got a good laugh out of that stuff, but there was that little part that couldn’t be explained away.  He was absolutely fascinated by those bumps in the night.

He had to wonder if the castle up on the promontory over the loch was haunted, and he willing to bet it was.  Maybe someday he’d get to go exploring with all that sort of specialised ghost hunting equipment his colleagues on _Ghost Hunters_ got to use.

From the files he’d received from Sir Archie, that was Forgill Castle, the base for the Zygon invasion decades ago.  That the last Duke of Forgill had been duplicated by the Zygons, and it had taken the Doctor, his companions, and UNIT to take the Zygons down.

Josh wanted to know more about the Doctor, but Oscar had warned him that, to Ianto and Toshiko, the Doctor was a sore subject. 

Sure, he’d read the history of the Torchwood Institute, and how the Time Lord known as the Doctor had long been the Institute’s Enemy Number One, but that Jack had been a companion and had travelled with him for a bit, only to be abandoned on a dead space station far in the future, inexplicably immortal and without a clue as to how it had occurred.  Jack’s relationship with the Doctor had only gotten worse, and there was something about a paradox year – which, honestly, scared Josh just a bit, wondering what had happened to him during That Year and not really _wanting_ to know – and now it seemed that the Institute was right back to hating the Time Lord again. 

That was a shame.  Josh thought the idea of travelling in time would be something within his personal interests.

Sir Archie was standing right at the edge of the water.  He reached into his pocket, pulling out a small device that Josh couldn’t really make out a lot of from where he was standing. 

“That’s Nessie’s calling device,” Toshiko murmured.  “The Zygons used to use it to drive Nessie toward whatever target they’d wanted her to destroy, but it’s been reprogrammed so it doesn’t hurt her anymore.”

“Why would anyone do that to another creature?” he wanted to know, keeping his voice as low as Toshiko’s.  As he watched, Sir Archie stroked the disc with his thumb, and a harsh, warbling sound began emanating from it.

“The Zygons were only interested in their own agenda,” Oscar answered.  He was on Josh’s opposite side, the wind from the loch ruffling the feathers around the alien velociraptor’s head.  “It did not matter that they depended on Nessie for their nutrition, either.  It was only about what _they_ wanted, and not for Nessie’s well-being.”

In the file, it had been explained that Nessie produced a form of milk that the Zygons consumed.  Honestly, it didn’t make any sense for them to endanger their own food supply like that, but then Josh had no idea about the thought processes of alien combatants…and didn’t want to, really.  He only really wanted to know the best ways to kick their asses.

As he stood there, the water began to churn a little, heralding something coming to the surface.  Josh’s heartbeat ramped up, excitement at finally seeing the real Loch Ness Monster making his hands shake.  It was one thing to be told that Nessie existed; it was another to actually _see_ her.

An enormous head broke the surface of the loch.

Josh forgot how to breathe.

It _really_ was the Loch Ness Monster.

The head kept getting higher and higher, on a long, sinuous neck that was looking down at Sir Archie as the Scotsman deactivated the device that had summoned her.  Her skin was smooth, like fine leather, and dark green with mottled brown and black spots along her back and sides, becoming more noticeable the farther out of the water she dragged herself on giant flippers that would have been more use in the water than on land.  There were silvery metal parts along her head that looked as if they’d been grown in place, making her seem even more otherworldly than she had in the seconds before he’d seen them attached to her.

Josh couldn’t help but watch her, eyes wide, that inner child of his jumping up and down with glee even as he was frozen in place by the sheer majesty of the creature.

_The Loch Ness Monster was real.  She really existed._

“Yes, she does,” Toshiko answered, amused, which was when Josh realised he’d said that out loud.

He was too much in awe to be embarrassed by that sort of thing, although he supposed he would be later on.

Nessie was moving oddly, though.  It was something he couldn’t help but notice, even though Josh had no previous experience with the Skarasen.  It was as if she was favouring her left side, and when she was beached as far as she could go and still get herself back into the loch, she laid down so that there was no weight on that side of her body. 

Sir Archie was at her head in a heartbeat, fingers stroking just under the cybernetic implants along her jaw.  “Hello, my girl,” he said fondly.  “We’re here to help ye, I promise.”

Nessie let out this soft purr, not unlike a cat’s, although with a roar behind it that made it obvious this wasn’t some sort of simple, terrestrial animal.  It was obvious that she was pleased to see Sir Archie, and Josh wondered if she could understand what he was saying to her, or if she was just reacting to the tone of his words.

“Ye remember Oscar and Toshiko, sweetheart?” Sir Archie went on.  Both people mentioned made their way toward Nessie’s head, so that the Skarasen could see them.  There was that little sound once more, that sound of contentment, that made Josh think of _safety_ and _home_ and _family_.

“And this is Joshua.”  Sir Archie made a hand motion toward him, making it look impatient.

Josh refrained from rolling his eyes, because not even his parents called him _Joshua_ , even as he forced his feet to move toward that large head.

Nessie blinked at him.  Even with her resting flat on the sandy shore, the top of her head reached up to his chest.  He purposely moved in front of her, knowing she would want to see him with both eyes.  “You are absolutely beautiful,” he gushed before he even knew he was speaking.

Those liquid, dark eyes looked up at him, and there was such a look of absolute trust in them it melted his heart.  Hesitantly, he rested a hand on her snout; it was warm under his fingers, and slick from the water.  He knew the grin on his face had to be a little ridiculous, but Josh didn’t care. 

He was actually meeting the Loch Ness Monster.

No, this was _Nessie_.  She might have once been used in order to kill and destroy, but that hadn’t been _her_.  She wasn’t a monster; she was an alien, trapped on Earth, abused by her former masters and then left behind when their plans for world domination had been foiled by another alien in a time travelling box who hadn’t seemed to care that he’d left her, just as the ones who’d hurt her had.

Josh was beginning to think the others had the right idea where the Doctor was concerned. If he’d done this to Nessie, an innocent creature, then what else was he capable of?

Nessie did her little purring/roaring thing, and Josh’s grin went smaller, happier, at her seeming acceptance of him.  “I will do anything in my power to help you,” he murmured, not caring if she really didn’t understand his words.  He meant every one of them, and he needed his team to understand that he was in this, because he wanted to help.

There was the unmistakable sound of someone taking a picture, but Josh didn’t care.  In fact, he was going to ask for a copy, because this first meeting was one he wanted to keep for posterity.  If nothing else happened to him in his time with Torchwood – highly unlikely, really – then he’d have _this_. 

“She likes ye.”  Sir Archie sounded a little resigned, as if he was finally accepting the fact that Josh wasn’t going to wreak any havoc and go to the press over this. 

Not that he would, because in that moment, as Josh stood there with his hand on the very object of years of searching, he knew that he would want to protect his creature from anyone who’d want to exploit her.  That he would keep Nessie a secret, would take her presence in the loch to his grave.  He was being given a gift, and he was going to be selfish and not share it with anyone who didn’t already know Nessie existed.

Josh turned to regard the older man.  His eyes were fond, and the archaeologist could see just how much Nessie meant to him…if he’d had any doubt of that in the first place.  “I like her, too.  She’s _amazing_.”

“Oscar and I are going to do some scans,” Toshiko said, sounding pleased.  “At this point, there’s really nothing for you to do, Josh, so if you just want to get to know Nessie better, that would be fine. It might also keep her calm if we have to go poking around a little.”

“Sure.”  That sounded ideal to him.  He didn’t mind at all making Nessie’s acquaintance.

 

 


	5. Chapter 5

 

**_2 June 2012_ **

**_Loch Ness_ **

**_Scottish Highlands_ **

****

“It’s not as good as I’d hoped,” Toshiko announced, as the four of them sat down for lunch in the inn’s dining room.

She’d been so very impressed with Josh.  Meeting the very thing you’d once chased after had to have been amazing yet frightening at the same time.  He’d handled it almost like a professional…a professional child who’d just been given the best gift ever.  He still looked amazed by it all, sitting across from her, his eyes wide with wonder and his body almost shaking with excitement. 

Toshiko had gotten pictures of his reaction to Nessie.  It had been adorable.  Not that she’d ever tell him that.  She was certainly going to share them, though.

Archie looked worried.  “Ye think ye can fix what’s wrong?”

Oscar, seated next to her on a stool that Angus’ grandson had brought out for him to use – his tail tended to get in the way of most chairs – nodded.  “The anterior power node is glitching, which is what is causing the problem.  It will need to be replaced., which will require surgery.”

“That sounds treatable,” the Scotsman said, the relief visibly growing.

“Ideally,” Toshiko added, “I’d like to have Jemma up here to help, since she did a lot of research into Nessie’s biology and how her cybernetics work in conjunction with her power nodes when she and Fitz were up here.  But we need to act fast on this, so I doubt there will be time for her to get here, and that’s even if she’s able to clear her schedule with SHIELD quickly.”  Honestly, Toshiko wished that Ianto had been able to get the pair of them for Torchwood, but that mess with Director Fury had put any sort of kibosh on that.  She knew that Archie was sorry as well; but then, he’d wanted to train Fitz, his great-nephew, up to eventually take over Torchwood House.  That had fallen by the wayside after Fury had somehow discovered that Archie had planned on asking Fitz about it at some point.  They couldn’t very well do it then, not after the stink SHIELD’s Director had kicked up.

Not that Toshiko could blame him.  Jemma Simmons and Leo Fitz were two of the smartest people she’d every met, and they were still very young.  There was no telling how amazing they’d be when they’d had even more training and maturity under their belts.

“Can’t you Skype her or something?” Josh asked.

“We can,” Oscar agreed.  “However, we do not use anything as prosaic as Skype.”

He sounded a little disgusted; it wasn’t in his translated words, but she was used to listening for the nuances in his native speech, before it was sent through the translator; besides, there wasn’t a word for ‘Skype’ in Oscar’s native tongue, and it was obvious how he felt about _that_.  Toshiko had to laugh.  “We have what’s called the sub-wave,” she explained.  “It’s much more secure than just regular old Skype.”

“I shall attempt to contact her and Fitz after we eat,” Oscar said, “and set up the teleconference for first thing in the morning.”

Angus’ wife, Maddie, bustled over to them, bringing a tray of drinks with her.  She set tea down in front of Toshiko herself, Josh, and Archie; Oscar got a glass of water, the scientist not at all tolerant of caffeine, making him more of an atypical member of Torchwood than just being an alien.  “We have some nice lamb stew today,” she told them breezily, her grin almost infectious.  Maddie MacRanald had been a beauty in her youth; she was still striking, with once-ginger hair now liberally streaked with silver and fine lines around her brilliant green eyes.  “I’ve also made some nice, fresh bread to go along with it.”

“That sounds lovely, Maddie,” Archie told her, returning her smile. 

“And Oscar,” she turned toward their resident alien scientist, “I have a haunch of deer smoking out back.  How’s that sound?”

“Excellent, Mrs MacRanald,” Oscar replied, giving her one of those grins that look as if he was about to bite your head off.  Luckily, everyone in Tulloch had seen that before, so Maddie didn’t even blink an eye.  Oscar ate quite a lot, since he was genetically related to apex predators and had the eating habits to match that lineage.  “Could I perhaps get some of your wonderful haggis as well?”

That request earned him a beaming smile from Maddie.  “Of course ye can, sweetheart.  I’ve just finished up a batch for Angus and the boys, with extra in case.”

“Could I try that?” Josh asked, intrigued.  “I’ve never had haggis before.”

Maddie looked very pleased.  “Now, that’s what I call brave.  Haggis is an acquired taste, but if ye’re willing to give it a whirl…”

“You can try some of mine,” Oscar offered.  “Then, if you enjoy it, you can have your own.”

“That’s a good idea.  I’d hate to insult Mrs MacRanald if I don’t like it.” 

“Bless ye’re heart, ye wouldn’t insult me at all if ye decided ye dinna care for it.”  The Scotswoman patted him on the shoulder.  “I’ll be right back with ye’re orders.”  She flounced away, her long skirt twirling about her ankles as she headed toward the kitchen.

“I never really got the taste of haggis,” Toshiko admitted. 

“Tis not for everyone, lass,” Archie told her.  “I like it just fine, but I’m not about to give up on lamb stew, especially Maddie’s.  Now Leopold, he never liked it, but I blame his poor mother for it; she wasn’t a very good cook, truth be told.”

At Josh’s questioning glance, the Scotsman explained, “Leopold is my great-nephew.  Leopold Fitz.”

“Ah, gotcha. The Fitz that Toshiko mentioned back at the loch.  The one in SHIELD, right?”

“Aye, that’s right.”  Archie seemed to be thawing toward Josh more and more, ever since Nessie had decided that she liked their newest teammate. “He’s made me proud, he has.  He’s doing amazing things with SHIELD, him and Jemma.”

“Are they…?”

“Och, no.  Best friends, Leopold and Jemma are.  Although, I don’t think it would take much to push them in that direction.  Leopold was right infatuated the last time I saw him.”

Toshiko had to agree.  Back when they were working at Torchwood House, it had been apparent that Fitz did feel something for Jemma, and that Jemma seemed fairly oblivious to his feelings.  Well, she could understand, being that blinded to someone who could have been so much more than just a friend. 

After all, it had taken her almost a year of hell in order to recognise Kathy as her soulmate.

“Now,” Archie said, “to change the subject back to Nessie…”

“The one problem we would have had,” she explained, “was the power node.  It’s Zygon technology, and it’s pretty difficult in finding organic crystallographic replacements here on Earth.”

“Which makes sense,” Oscar continued, “however, there happened to be a few at Torchwood House, brought over after one of UNIT’s Archives shut down and the inventory was sent to us.  The moment you mentioned the node, Sir Archie, I took the opportunity to find the spares in the Archives.  I have brought them with me.”

Archie sighed with relief.  “Thanks for that, Oscar.”

“Anything to aid in Nessie’s recovery.”

She’d known that he’d gone hunting for the spare nodes, so that wasn’t a surprise.  Oscar could be almost as anal as Ianto with the need to be prepared.  “The difficult part is going to be the actual replacement.  We’re going to have to basically operate on Nessie to get to the glitching node itself.”

“How do you prep a really large lake monster for surgery?” Josh quipped.

“Exactly.  I’ll contact Owen and see if he can recommend some sort of anaesthetic, but who knows what will work on her?” 

Really, that was the part that she was most concerned about.  If they couldn’t somehow knock Nessie out, performing surgery on a creature weighing as much as she did would be very problematic.  The moment she felt any pain, she would be likely to lash out, and someone could get hurt.  Especially Nessie herself.

“How soon do we need to get in there?” Archie asked.

“Tomorrow at the latest, really,” Oscar was the one who answered; he knew more about the biology end of things. “The scanner showed that the node is sending out electrical impulses that are disrupting Nessie’s nervous system.   That is what is causing her pain.  If the glitch gets worse, it could possibly start a cascade effect throughout her entire body, and that would kill her.  We simply cannot wait.”

“I have a question.”  Josh had a contemplative expression on his face, and Toshiko was curious to know what he might be thinking about.

So, she asked him what that question was.

“Just how possible would it be to hypnotise Nessie?  As a form of anaesthesia, that is.”

Toshiko wanted to scoff at it, but…she couldn’t, not really.  Because it was a solution to the problem that she hadn’t even thought of herself.  “I’m…not sure.  We know that Nessie is intelligent; her brain is much larger than a human’s, and she shows understanding in what we say to her.  We just don’t know how that intelligence translates to actual brain function.  She’s alien, so her brain is so very much different from any terrestrial animal’s.”

“How did the Zygons control her?  You said one of those devices like you have, right?”

“Aye,” Archie replied.  “It would cause her pain, so she would seek it out and destroy it…along with whatever or whoever it was attached to.”

Josh was chewing his lip thoughtfully.  “So, conceivably…we could somehow program something up that soothes her instead of riling her up?”

“Oh Goddess,” Toshiko breathed.  “That’s brilliant.”

She would need to get a closer look at the summoning device; she hadn’t been the one to reprogram it, that had been a scientist who’d worked with Archie back when Torchwood Two was a bit more than it was now, just after the mess with the Zygons and Archie had taken charge of the creature. 

“We do know that the original devices did act on a section of Nessie’s brain that controlled aggression,” Oscar mused.  He was unconsciously tapping one of his long, yet well-trimmed, claws on the table, the sound of it hitting the wood muffled a little by the tablecloth. 

“We would just need to tweak that signal a little,” Toshiko said.  “Archie, can I see your summoning device?”

“Absolutely.”  He gladly handed it over.

Toshiko turned the little disc over in her hands.  It looked machined, yet at the same time as if it had been grown.  Organic crystallography was almost like what mainframe was, only she was somewhat more advanced.  Toshiko wasn’t as up on the subject as she could have been, but she could easily connect to mainframe and see what had been recorded by previous Torchwood scientists.  They also had access to UNIT servers as well, and there would be something there as well. 

“I’m going to need my microtools,” she murmured, “plus the original plans for this thing.”  Toshiko glanced up at Archie.  “I won’t do anything to it, I promise.  I just want to get a look at its mechanism, see what changes were made when the signal was adapted to summon her instead of angering her.”  The last thing she wanted to do was make it impossible to summon Nessie when needed.

“Anything to help our Nessie,” Archie vowed.  “If something happens to that, I’m sure ye can make another one.”

Toshiko appreciated his confidence in her.  “I’ll do whatever I can.”

“And enough talking shop,” Maddie declared, starting to set plates and bowls on the table.  “Eat, then you lot can work ye’re miracles with our girl.”

Toshiko found she couldn’t argue with that.

 

 


	6. Chapter 6

 

**_2 June 2012_ **

**_Loch Ness_ **

**_Scottish Highlands_ **

****

Josh sat on the bed in his room, laptop open in front of him, chewing on his lip as the computer booted up.

After lunch, Toshiko had retired to her own room, the better to get her science on.  Josh had felt proud at giving her the idea for sedating Nessie; it had just come to him, and he’d blurted it out without considering if it was actually a good idea or not.  It had made sense to him, as it had Toshiko and Oscar, and for that he felt he’d made his inclusion in on the mission worthwhile, even if he didn’t get to use his skills at diving.

It didn’t hurt that Sir Archie seemed a bit impressed by it as well.  While usually opinions of others didn’t bother him, Josh was determined to change the Scotsman’s mind.

After Toshiko had ambled off to do her usual miracle working, he’d pulled Oscar aside, asking the scientist about the sub-wave, and Oscar had explained that the software would have already been downloaded to the laptop that Torchwood had provided him.  Josh hadn’t really used it yet, but then he’d been in one base or the other with total access to mainframe and the Archives, so the opportunity hadn’t come up.

Now, as he waited, the Torchwood screensaver began to whirl across the screen, then prompted him for his password.  That was one of the first things Toshiko had set up for him, so he typed it in, and waited a little longer as icons began to populate onto the screen.  There weren’t many, and Josh would have been exploring them if not for the main reason he’d wanted access to the sub-wave.

He clicked on the icon for it, then typed in the name of the person he wanted to contact.  When Oscar had said the program was intuitive, and would always find the person he was looking for as long as they were near a computer, Josh hadn’t been sure about it, or how that would even work, but the moment his fingers left the keyboard the screen was clearing.

To reveal Penelope Garcia, sitting in a room that was full of all sorts of tech and computer gear, as well as several potted plants and at least one movie poster that Josh could make out on one wall.  A headband with cats’ ears on it was holding her hair back, which Josh found absolutely charming and made him smile. 

She looked pleasantly surprised to see him.  _“How are things going, oh Holy Diver?”_

Josh laughed at the greeting; he wasn’t that much of a fan of heavy metal, but he _did_ get the context.  “Pretty well, all things considered.”  He explained what they’d discovered about Nessie’s condition, and what Toshiko was doing with that disc thing Sir Archie used to call Nessie up from the loch.

Penelope’s expression turned pensive.  _“That would work, and would also explain the sudden surge of activity under her login with mainframe.  She’s probably pulling up information on the disc as we speak.”_ She gave him a grin.  _“So, is this a personal call then?  Because I could go for that.”_

It had been a while since someone had flirted with him, and while Josh liked the idea, he was going to have to disappoint her.  “No, sorry.  Maybe some other time, though.”

That earned him a wink.  _“Promises, promises.”_ She settled back in her chair.  _“So, what can I do for you?”_

Josh explained about Angus MacRanald, and his brush with the man’s second sight. 

Penelope’s fingers began to dance across her keyboard.  _“Let’s see what we have on these Blue Angels, shall we?”_

“If there’s anything in mainframe, I’m sure you’ll find it.”

 _“Sweet talker. But then, mainframe does like me_ almost _best.”_

One of the things Josh had been amazed by, was mainframe.  A sentient computer, one who liked certain people more than others…that was just plain awesome.  While she seemed to like Josh just fine, she had her favourites…one of them being Toshiko; he’d seen mainframe react to her, and if code could purr, it would whenever Toshiko put her fingers to her keyboard. 

Penelope would have been right up there Toshiko, since she was her Second.  It would have made him just a wee bit jealous, if Josh wasn’t already aware of his own worth.  Plus, mainframe didn’t actively _dislike_ him, and in fact seemed to approve of him, made the idea of others being more in mainframe’s favour just fine with him.

Penelope frowned in concentration as she worked.  _“I’ve met Angus a couple of times, and he’s never so much as said ‘boo’ at me.  I think I’m a little jealous.”_

Josh laughed a little uneasily.  “Don’t be.  To be honest, it was a little freaky.”  He’d managed to be polite about the whole thing, but it had still startled him.  He’d been truthful, though, about seeing more and more that surprised him.  “Sure, I was pretty sure second sight existed, but it was the first time it’d ever been pointed in my direction before.”

_“I’d tell you, you’d get used to the weirdness, but I’ve been with Torchwood for a couple of years and it hasn’t happened yet.”_

Josh snorted.  “If I ever _do_ get used to it, it’ll be the time to hang it up.”

 _“That’s the spirit!”_ She gave him a beaming smile.

It _might_ have been cute.

And Josh might have suddenly found himself wanting to get to know Penelope a little better.   He thought they might become friends.

 _“Looks like mainframe night have come up with something.”_ She stopped typing.  _“It’s not much, but there’s a myth about Blue Angels coming to Earth and…well, I guess the best term would be ‘evolving’, normal humans into an army that they would use to combat their enemies.”_

“That sounds…ominous.”  He wasn’t just saying that, either.  The very notion of his ancestors being in some sort of army…and that wasn’t the _worst_ thing he’d just heard.  “You mean, they were somehow genetically tampered with?  Wouldn’t that imply some sort of advanced technology?”

Penelope considered.  _“Well, it wouldn’t have been the first time that aliens have come to Earth and messed around with the human race.”_

“It’s scary just how close Erich von Daniken really was, with all that _Chariots of the Gods_ shit.”  Josh had believed in a lot of things _before_ , but alien astronauts hadn’t really been one of them.

Well, he’d read enough since coming to work for Torchwood to know that aliens had been coming to the planet for millennia.  So, yeah…alien astronauts.  Not something he would ever discount again.

 _“You’re not kidding.  I’ve never read him, but I’ve seen those_ Ancient Alien _shows before.  None of those guys have_ any _idea.”_

Josh thought rather that stuff like that was one of the reasons humanity was so hard to convince that they weren’t alone out there in the universe.  So much misinformation had made the human race cynical to that sort of thing, despite it being all over their TVs…see the Chitauri invasion for the best example of that _ever_. 

It was sad, in a way; but it also made Torchwood’s job that much easier when it came to covering up disasters caused by alien incursions. 

 _“I’m sorry,”_ Penelope said, leaning away from her keyboard, _“but mainframe doesn’t have anything else to add. It’s all legend and hearsay.  I can put the word out to the Cardiff Coven, see if they might have something that Torchwood doesn’t.  Ianto might also have heard something.  He’s a regular font of knowledge about ancient myths like that, having lived for so long.  Plus, there’s also the records that haven’t been digitised yet, which there aren’t really that many left.  Ianto’s been pretty busy since taking on getting Torchwood House ready, and that’s been one of his jobs.”_

In a way, Josh didn’t want to bother Ianto with this.  After all, it was kinda personal; it was his past, after all, and in the long run it just didn’t seem all that important.

But…

If there was a chance that, somehow, Josh’s ancestors had been mucked about with by aliens, it was something that Torchwood might need to know.  Owen hadn’t come up with anything during his initial, new employee, physical, but then he hadn’t been looking for something as arcane as alien – or even magical, Josh was willing to concede to that, as well – influences.  Certainly there would have been something in his genetics to point to that occurring.

As for the coven, he’d heard about it from Ceridwen, their teammate slash witch.  He’d been a little sceptical of the whole magic thing, until she’d showed him by turning Owen into a toad.  It had been hilarious.

“Yeah,” he agreed, “that might not be a bad idea.  I don’t think it’s all that important in the scheme of things, but I really want to know if little green men did something to my family back before the dawn of written records.”

 _“True.  I’ll make a note of what I found, then pass it along to Ianto.”_ She gave him a reassuring smile.  _“I’m sure there’s nothing to worry about.  Oh, besides the fact that Owen will most likely want to poke and prod you some more.”_

“Lovely,” Josh groused.  “His bedside manner is shit.”

Penelope laughed.  _“You’re not the only one to think that, darling.”_

Josh was grateful to her.  “Thanks for helping me.”

 _“Not a problem,”_ she assured him.  _“Glad to do it.  And, if you need anything…”_

“I’ll call you.”

He didn’t add that he’d really like to get to know her better.  Penelope Garcia was kind, friendly, and irreverent, and those were traits that Josh could get behind.  He could see them becoming fast friends, and there was no such thing as having too many of those. 

He’d lucked into a good bunch of people.  That hadn’t escaped his notice.  In a lot of ways, it was like finding a new family, even though his folks were still around and living in the States, and his Gran had a home near London.  Torchwood was a completely different form of family, and Josh would be eternally grateful for stumbling onto them when his researcher had decided that searching for a dragon in Cardiff was a really good idea.  He’d have to send her flowers, although Ryder would have no clue why since she didn’t recall what actually _happened_ back then.

The computer expert looked at him slyly.  _“You can also call if you just want to chat, as well.”_

That sounded like a really good idea, actually.  “I might just do that.”

 

 


	7. Chapter 7

 

**_3 June 2012_ **

**_Loch Ness_ **

**_Scottish Highlands_ **

Once again, the group stood at the edge of the loch, Archie with the summoning device, Toshiko and Oscar ready to perform what they needed to do in order to repair the broken power node that was causing Nessie such pain. 

On a table that Josh and Archie had wrestled down from the inn, a laptop was set up, the sub-wave already active and showing a pair of faces that looked far too young to be the brilliant scientists that Josh had been told they were.  Doctor Jemma Simmons was a cute Brit with brown hair and dark eyes; and Doctor Leopold Fitz – “Just Fitz, please” – was almost as Scottish as his great-uncle.  They both were worried, but standing by for whatever Toshiko and Oscar needed them for.

From what Josh had been told, both scientists had been the first of SHIELD to be part of the Torchwood exchange programme, and had impressed everyone in the Institute with their intelligence and work ethic.  From just the short time Josh had known them – less than an hour, tops – he could already see how connected they were, like they shared a brain or something.  Jemma was a biochemist, while Fitz was an engineer, both with multiple degrees and with enough alien experience that they’d been a part of an elite taskforce run by the late Agent Phil Coulson, who – as Toshiko had explained – had been Patrick’s uncle, and who’d been killed during the Battle of New York.

Josh had put together that this was also the Phil that Clint was mourning.  His fellow new employee had told him, one night over pints at the local down from the Hub, that he’d left SHIELD and the Avengers because of what had happened before the Battle and the mind control thing, and because of losing the man he still loved.  Josh honestly liked Clint, and could see himself working with him quite easily, and wanted to do what he could to help, which he knew wouldn’t be much.  When a person lost someone that important to them, especially when carrying around a shitload of guilt over it, it was going to take a very long time to get back to some form of emotional equilibrium.

Josh hadn’t admitted to anyone that his inner child had squee’d when he’d learned that his new friend and teammate had been an Avenger.  He also didn’t admit to finding one of the very few Hawkeye action figures in a Tesco near the Plass, and buying it because he’d been flipping impressed that a normal guy had managed to hold his own not only against the Chitauri, but against the Cybermen as well, in the later battle at the United Nations that Josh had managed to catch on TV.  Of course, that battle had been what had precipitated his sudden move to Cardiff, because of a certain dragon he’d watched keeping a helicopter from crashing onto the battlefield after being shot down by a laser beam.

Of all of them, Josh really didn’t have a part to play in the upcoming surgery.  He knew they were counting on him keeping Nessie calm if the device Toshiko had cobbled together last night didn’t work as well as they were hoping, but there really wasn’t a lot he could do against a lake creature that weighed thousands of pounds. 

He’d do his best, however.  The last thing he wanted was to have Nessie hurt herself or anyone else. 

Sir Archie was at the edge of the water, looking back at Toshiko and Oscar, who were prepping for the delicate job of replacing the malfunctioning power node.  The dromaeosaurid was snapping on specially made sterile gloves over his three-fingered hands, a smock draped over his chest to prevent blood spatter from getting onto himself and the translator he wore.  Oscar looked confident, but it was telling that he was quiet, his expression…well, Josh hadn’t known him all that long, but even a face full of carnivorous teeth could look pensive.

Toshiko was laying out equipment on the same table that the laptop was on.  The power nodes were small things, and it made Josh wonder just how something that tiny could cause so much pain.  Well, he supposed it was like having a splinter, and how that could irritate someone to the point where they’d need to dig it out. 

Only this splinter was also sending random electric shocks through Nessie’s body.

 _“You’ll need to beware of the anterior nerve cluster,”_ he could just make out Jemma saying over the sound of the wind.  It was kicking up a little, although the day was a bit warmer than it had been yesterday.  _“The node is almost too close to it for you and Oscar to reach it properly.”_ Worry rode her words like a banshee, it was that obvious.

“I know,” Toshiko answered worriedly.  ‘That was the one real problem Oscar and I see.  Well, besides the whole ‘Nessie being awake during surgery’ bit.”

 _“Your device is sound,”_ Fitz reassured her.

“We just do not wish to cause Nessie unnecessary pain,” Oscar added, coming to stand next to Toshiko.  “Her dermis is quite tough, and I am afraid of doing more damage when I make the incision.”

 _“You’ve got this, Oscar,”_ Jemma said confidently.  _“I just wish I could be there to assist you.”_

“I’m ready to call Nessie whenever ye’re ready for her,” Sir Archie cut into their conversation.

Josh felt a little bit like an eavesdropper, and suddenly wished Penelope was on the sub-wave as well, because then he’d have someone he was familiar with to talk to, to reassure him as much as Jemma and Fitz were doing tor Oscar and Toshiko.  His palms were clammy with sweat, and he wasn’t the one going to be actually doing anything.  He could only imagine how the others were feeling.

“We’re ready,” Toshiko took a deep breath.

The Scotsman rested a hand on her shoulder.  “Ye’ll do fine, lass.  I have faith in both you and Oscar.”

She gave him a wan smile.  “Thanks for that.  Let’s get this over with.”

“Good idea.”  He moved back to the edge of the loch, his finger stroking the call signal.  The warbling sound echoed out over the water, and they waited for Nessie to appear.

And waited.

And waited.

“It doesn’t usually take this long, does it?” Josh enquired after about ten minutes.

Sir Archie looked very afraid.  “No, it doesn’t.”

“Nessie breathes air,” Oscar pointed out.  “She can stay down for hours, but if something has happened and she has collapsed somewhere in the loch…”

Josh shivered.  He knew just how big and deep Loch Ness was, and finding her was going to be like looking for needle in a very wet haystack.  “Is there anywhere in the loch she might have gone?”  Certainly there had to be caves or something where she would sleep, because she wouldn’t come to the shore for that sort of thing.  It would have been too dangerous.

“There are caves just off shore here,” Sir Archie answered.  “She could have lost consciousness somewhere in one of them.”  He shut down the signal, the silence returning to the loch.

“Then, that’s where I’ll look.” 

The scuba equipment that Ianto had requisitioned was still in the lorry, so Josh had to go back to the inn to collect it.  Sir Archie went with him, his shorter legs keeping up admirably.  “Do ye think ye can find her?” he asked worriedly. 

“I’m gonna try.”  Josh had dived Loch Ness before.  The visibility was shit, but that couldn’t be helped.  “Does Torchwood have detailed underwater maps of the loch?”

“Aye, we do.  They’re probably a sight better than what can be had from the scientific boats that ply these waters, searching for our girl.”

Josh could see that; alien tech had most likely either been used totally to make them, or had been grafted to Earth technology to improve range and definition.  He could hear Sir Archie calling Toshiko on the comms; the response to his request for the charts sounded in Josh’s ear as well, saying that she would have Penelope upload the maps to her laptop.

“No,” he butted in, “I’ll grab my laptop from my room, that way you won’t lose connection with your doctor friends, and they can be ready for when I find her.”

 _When._ Not _if._ Because Josh was determined to locate her, no matter what.

 _“Alright,”_ Toshiko answered, her voice a little thin with worry.

“I’ll get it,” Sir Archie volunteered.  “You get ye’re gear together.”

Josh handed his key over without a second thought.  “It’s on the bedside table.”

The Scotsman accepted the key, then took off at a run, his kilt flapping about his legs. 

Josh detoured to the lorry.

They hadn’t bothered to lock it, not when everyone in Tulloch knew who they were and what they were doing there.  A couple of the residents watched him as his bounded up to the back, throwing open the rolling door and clambering up inside.  He could tell they were curious, that they wanted to know what his hurry was, but Josh didn’t want to take the time to explain.

He chose the cold-water dry suit.  The loch’s ambient water temperature was pretty chilly, usually around 40 degrees, so he’d need the extra insulation the padded suit would give him.  Quickly, he stripped out of his clothes, dragged on the insulated undergarments and then shimmied the suit on, the actions well practiced by now, the dry suit shifting the underwear around in ways that could be uncomfortable if he didn’t settle the material properly.  He left the hood off for the time being and tucked the gloves into the weighted belt he settled onto his waist, putting his own shoes back on for the run back out to the loch, but grabbing up the specially made boots and flippers to take with him. 

Josh quickly checked the tanks once more; he’d done it back at Torchwood House, but it never hurt to make certain everything was still working smoothly.  The last thing he wanted to do was run into problems in the middle of the loch. 

“I have the laptop,” Sir Archie called out.  He peered into the rear of the lorry; Josh took the opportunity to hand him the flippers and the hood, so he could carry the tanks and the mask, as well as the lights he would need. 

“Visibility is going to be terrible,” Josh reported as he climbed down out of the lorry, then reached back in for the tanks, which he slung over his back by one of the webbed straps, then grabbing the mask assembly, as well as a bag full of other items he would most likely need.  The lights were last; they were large, LED; one would strap to his wrist, and he’d carry another on his belt in case that one went out. 

Josh always believed in being prepared.

As he’d changed, a crowd had gathered, and the babble of concern rose as he appeared in his diving kit.  Everyone in Tulloch knew why they were there, and him getting ready to dive the loch had to be like giving the villagers the worst news.  It meant that Nessie hadn’t come when Sir Archie had called her, and that would never have happened if she’d been in any condition to answer. 

Josh was worried, as well.  The glitch Toshiko and Oscar had found must have gotten worse overnight, and he just knew that Sir Archie was most likely cursing himself mentally at waiting for the morning to do what they needed to do.  There’d been no way around it; Toshiko and Oscar had had to prepare for the actual surgery, and there had been no way to rush things.  Besides, they couldn’t do the procedure in the dark, when it was so much colder, and conditions weren’t ideal for it.

Without saying anything – there wasn’t anything to be said, really – he and Sir Archie cut through the gathering and headed back down to the loch, going as fast as they could with the load of gear Josh was now carrying.  As soon as they arrived, Toshiko took the laptop from Sir Archie, and had it up and booted in no time at all.  Josh didn’t need to give her his password; she was the one who’d set the computer up for him in the first place. 

The sub-wave came up, revealing Penelope’s pale features.  _“I’ve got the maps,”_ she said.  The computer tech vanished from the screen, replaced by what were probably the most beautiful underwater maps Josh had ever seen in his life. 

Loch Ness had formed on what was the Great Glen Fault, a nearly-inactive fault zone that had been around for over 300 million years.  Glaciers had carved along the fault to form Loch Ness, the second deepest loch in Scotland.  The topographical map on the laptop showed what Josh already knew about the structure of the loch: it was steep-sided, the bottom flat as the proverbial pancake, but there were details he hadn’t seen before on these maps. 

Along the sides of the loch were the unmistakable dips signifying caves. 

There was also a strange debris field on the bottom of the loch, and it didn’t look natural. 

Josh pointed at it.  “Is that the remains of the Zygon ship?”

“Aye,” Archie answered. “Torchwood would’ve gone for the remains, but it’s too deep at this time for any recovery efforts.  We funded a fishery over the spot, and that seems to work to keep people out of the area.  It’s just off the coast from Forgill Castle, as there used to be a way to get from the castle down into the ship.”

“Nessie wouldn’t have gone there, would she?”

The Scotsman frowned.  “She might.  I’m not sure how large the passage up to the castle is; I doubt she’d fit.”  He pointed toward a set of caves just off shore, in the shelf that slid down toward the bottom of the loch.  “These caves are most likely gonna be where ye’ll need to search.  We know for a fact that they’re big enough for her to hide in.”

“I’ll need someone to guide me.  I won’t be able to see much down there; there’s too much silt in the water for decent visibility.”

“I can do that,” Toshiko volunteered.  “Make sure the GPS in your suit is turned on, and I’ll tell you where to go.”

Josh nodded.  The GPS was in the belt, and he switched it on then and there, to test it.  Toshiko did something with the laptop; a dot appeared on the map, showing her just where he was. 

 _“Josh,”_ he heard Penelope say, through the connection with Torchwood House, _“be careful, okay?”_

He appreciated her concern.  “I will.” 

The wishes were echoed by Jemma and Fitz from the second computer, and from Oscar, who was watching him closely, as if he was already expecting things to go wrong and was trying to prepare himself for it.

“Cheer up,” he told his new alien friend breezily, “I got this.”

“It is not your expertise I am concerned about,” Oscar admitted.  “It is all the other variables that are involved in this dive that worry me.”

Alright, that might have been a valid point.

“Ye’ll be fine,” Sir Archie said with confidence.  “And ye’ll find our girl and bring her back.”

“I’ll do my very best.”  Josh didn’t want to fail the man, which was saying something since Sir Archie hadn’t liked him from day one.  Perhaps it was because he wanted to prove himself, or else there was another reason for it, but Josh wasn’t about to prove that he didn’t belong in Torchwood.

He took a deep breath.  It was time to dive.

The hood went on first, covering his head including his chin and forehead.  Josh made certain that none of his hair or beard was in the way of the mask fitting properly, moving the material around until it was just right. 

Then he replaced his shoes with the boots; although they were insulated, he could feel the pebbles of the beach through the soles.  It won’t matter in a minute, and his feet were tough from all the activity he did even though he usually wore his hiking boots. 

The tanks settled onto his back, heavy and ungainly.  That wouldn’t matter when he was in the water, the natural buoyancy making the weight of the metal a lot less and easier to deal with.  Josh belted the webbing around his chest, bouncing the tanks a little in order to get them in the proper place.

The bag he’d brought with him held his compass and some small tools he might need if he ran into trouble with his equipment.  He slipped those into pouches on his weight belt, clipping the extra light on as well.  He pulled the gloves on, then affixed the wrist lamp, clicking it on then off in order to make sure it was charged up and working.

The mask he was using was a full-face, that way he could talk to Toshiko as he dove.  He slid it on, adjusting the straps so that he had a solid seal against the hood.  There could be no skin showing; that was the quick way to injury from the cold water. 

Taking a deep breath, and then another, Josh tested the flow of gasses into the mask.

“Comm check,” he spoke normally, knowing his comm would pick it up easily.  “Are you reading me?”  He echoed a lot in the enclosed space of the mask.

 _“Copy,”_ Toshiko’s soothing voice sounded in his ear. 

He gave her a thumbs’ up, accepting the flippers from Sir Archie.  He couldn’t put them on until he was in the water; walking along the stones of the shore would be awkward if he did it before then, and the last thing he wanted to do was trip over something and ruin his image.

Alright, he didn’t want to trip over something and risk ripping the suit, since it wasn’t his.

Trusting his team to get him where he’d need to go, Josh moved toward the water, wanting to find Nessie and get her to come back as soon as possible.

 

 


	8. Chapter 8

 

**_3 June 2012_ **

**_Loch Ness_ **

**_Scottish Highlands_ **

****

Toshiko watched as Josh made his ungainly way toward the loch, and then submerge himself without hesitation.

 _“I’ll call when I’ve reached the step-off,”_ his voice echoed a little in Toshiko’s ear.

“Copy that,” she called back, her eyes going back to the screen where the underwater map was displayed, wishing that the tech that had been used to make it still existed.  Unfortunately, it had been lost when Torchwood One had fallen.

_“You haven’t told him, have you?”_

Penelope’s voice was slightly disapproving, and Toshiko could guess her expression matched it; she just couldn’t see her Second because of the map taking up the entire laptop screen.

Toshiko wanted to play dumb, but she knew that wouldn’t work.  “No, I haven’t,” she admitted.

The thing was, she really didn’t need the map, she was just keeping it on the laptop for appearances…not that she needed to do that with the two people present and Penelope on the other end of the sub-wave.  Jemma and Fitz didn’t know, but that was more of a case of Toshiko not wanting them to have to hide something from their superiors than not trusting them. 

Not like she hadn’t exactly trusted Josh.

 _“You’re at least going to use your magic to guide him to Nessie.”_ Penelope didn’t phrase that in the form of a question.  _“Because he’s risking his life to try and retrieve her, and he didn’t have to do that.”_

Penelope was right.  Toshiko _knew_ that.  She also had the feeling that this trip was also a test, for Josh but also for her.  Oh, not in the way of seeing if they could work together, and Jack wouldn’t have been that blatant.  No, this was an opportunity for her to see that she could trust Josh Gates; that he wasn’t about to betray them when the chips were down. 

Toshiko hadn’t actually believed he would.  But she did still harbour a few negative feelings toward him, over his attempt to ‘hunt’ her best friend for his television programme.  She was holding that act against him, even though she’d recorded the damned show and was fond of making Ianto twitch whenever he noticed it playing on one of the screens at the Hub.

She hadn’t expected the man to show up and look for a job with them. 

“Lass,” Sir Archie said from her side, resting a hand on her shoulder, “I can understand what ye were thinking when ye decided not to say anything about ye’re magic.  But, Penelope has a point: he didn’t have to dive into the dark and cold loch to look for our girl.  In fact, you could have simply used the Earth magic to locate her ye’reself, and yet you didn’t because ye didn’t want to reveal too much of ye’reself.”

It stung.  The truth, it really stung.

Toshiko had been about to do everything in her power not to reveal her connection to the Earth Dragon, that she could have quite easily used her senses to locate Nessie in whatever cave she’d taken refuge in.  The underwater charts hadn’t been necessary at all; they’d been a blind, a distraction from the fact that Toshiko herself had the ability to send her senses into the planet itself and see where Nessie was hiding.  She’d sent Josh into a potentially dangerous situation simply because she was irritated about how they’d first met.

And he’d gone willingly.  Just because it was Nessie, and because his skills were best suited for searching the loch.

Only, that wasn’t true at all.

Sure, he might have had to dive anyway.  But Toshiko could have told him exactly where to go, and what to expect.  Instead, he was swimming blindly, and what was worse was that he was literally trusting her with his life…and with Nessie’s.

There was silence from the other laptop, although she could guess that Jemma and Fitz had to be very curious about what they were discussing without even looking.  They had to be wanting to ask all sorts of questions, about how Toshiko had magic and what exactly she could do.  But they were being quiet, waiting for her.

Just as Josh was waiting for her.

And Nessie.  She couldn’t forget Nessie.

Toshiko flushed a little in embarrassment.  She’d just indulged in selfishness.  After all, Ianto had trusted Josh enough to have been honest with him about being a dragon, and Ianto didn’t do that lightly.  When their newest teammate had asked about it, Ianto had admitted it gladly, explaining about the dragons and how he was the Last.  He’d been honest about himself and how he’d come to be at Torchwood.

Ianto had once told her that his mother had encouraged him to follow his heart, that he could always trust what it told him.  Toshiko had been a witness to those times when he hadn’t done that, and each one of them had turned out badly. 

Lisa came to mind, but then that had also been Jack’s fault as well.  Even Jack had admitted that.

“He has accepted me as a friend,” Oscar added.  “If he can do that, then your magic will not change his respect for you.”

And that, right there, was the _coup de grace_ on Toshiko’s stubbornness, even though it wasn’t because she was afraid that Josh would scoff at the idea of magic.  He’d spoken with Ceridwen and Estelle, and even Brenda Williams, and was fully aware of the Cardiff coven. 

No, her reasons were her own, and in the light of Nessie’s illness they didn’t make a lot of sense.

“You’re all correct,” she admitted.  “I’ve been just a little bit stupid about the whole thing.”

Archie gave her a brilliant smile, as did Oscar; she was fairly certain Penelope was doing the same, but Toshiko still couldn’t see her face, so she put the chart into another window to reveal her Second…who was also smiling, albeit just a bit smugly.  She did spare a glance toward her SHIELD friends and, actually, their screen was clear, as if they’d stepped away to give them all privacy. 

Operational security.  Those two knew the meaning of that phrase.

 _“I’m at the drop off now,”_ Josh chimed in her ear. 

She toggled on the audio for her comm.  “Stand by, Josh…I’m going to lead you directly to Nessie.”

 _“You know where she is now?”_ his voice was excited. 

“Not yet.  But I have a way of finding her.”  She took a deep breath.  “With my magic.”

There was silence from the other end of the connection.  Then, _“You have magic?  That’s pretty damned awesome, Boss.  Tell me where to go, and I’m there.”_

Not a single tone of recrimination or anger.  Josh accepted her magic and was willing to let her guide him, even though she’d hidden it from him. 

Toshiko really had seriously misjudged him.

“Stand by,” she repeated.

_“Copy that.”_

She crouched down, to rest her hands flat against the scree that littered the small bit of shore they’d set up on.  Closing her eyes, Toshiko threw her senses outward and into the ground.

Her Earth magic came roaring out, permeating the area around where she knelt, and flowing outward and down, seeking the caves that she knew were below her, needing to find the one that Nessie might have taken refuge in. 

Rhiannon had once told her that she was possibly the most powerful of the Dragon Friends, and there were times when Toshiko believed that.  Other times, not so much…she’d seen what the others could do, and thought it was simply circumstances that dictated what each of them could accomplish with the magic they’d gained from the Great Dragons.  Watching Alice fly, or Rhiannon walk across the surface of the lake at Ddraig Llyn, or Kathy snapping her fingers and causing anything she wanted to, to catch fire… each were different, and in Toshiko’s eyes equally powerful. 

Down her senses plunged, picking out the caves and tunnels below Tulloch.  She had to rein them in a little, or else they would have gone spiralling out in all directions, because she needed to pinpoint something close.  Of course, she could be wrong about Nessie being nearby, but she rather thought she was correct in that supposition, because this was Nessie’s home and she wouldn’t have wandered far, not feeling as ill as she did.

The first two caves she found were empty.  It was the third one that she hit pay dirt…pun very much intended.

“Josh, can you tap against the section of scarp you’re next to please?” she requested, wanting to get his exact location with her magical senses.

_“Copy that.”_

A few seconds later…there, a slight clinking against stone, regular and manmade and not natural. 

“I’ve got you.  You’ll need to go to the east-northeast fifty meters, then down another twenty meters.  There will be a cave entrance there.”

_“On my way.”_

Now, it was a matter of waiting, but Toshiko was able to keep track of his progress as he kept clicking against the stone of the loch at intervals, allowing her to follow along with him easily.  She knew immediately when he located the entrance, not needing the audible confirmation that he was there. 

“She should be in a cave eighteen meters inside the passage.  There’s an air pocket, so you’ll be able to breathe.”

_“Heading inside now.”_

Toshiko’s heart has hammering as she waited for him to report back.  There was no way of telling what sort of condition Nessie was in; if she’d been too weak to answer Archie’s call, then it might be very bad indeed.  If it was, they might need to get to the cave somehow in order to perform the replacement procedure, and Josh was the only one with any sort of experience in diving.  They also didn’t have enough equipment, plus there wasn’t anything he’d be able to use to swim in.  She didn’t even know if Oscar _could_ swim.

_“I’ve found her.”_

Toshiko let out a breath she hadn’t been aware she’d been holding.  Archie sighed in relief, and he shared with Oscar what he’d been told.  Penelope let out a small whoop at the news.  _“I knew he could do it!”_ the computer expert crowed. 

The tone in her voice had Toshiko vaguely wondering just what was going on between her Second and their newest recruit.

Still, she would worry about that later.  Now, they needed to know Nessie’s condition and to get her to the surface.

 _“She’s breathing,”_ Josh reported.  _“She’s really lethargic though, and the side where the bad node is, is warm, like she’s running a fever.  Infection, maybe?”_

That had been prepared for.  Owen had put together a cocktail of antibiotics best suited for Nessie’s physiognomy, and the rather large needle was tucked away in Oscar’s medical kit. 

“Can ye get her up here?” Archie wanted to know.

_“I’m going to do my best, but she doesn’t look well at all…”_

His best was going to have to be good enough.  If whatever he was going to try didn’t work, they would have to come up with a back-up plan. 

She really hoped they didn’t have to come up with a back-up plan.

 

 


	9. Chapter 9

 

**_3 June 2012_ **

**_Loch Ness_ **

**_Scottish Highlands_ **

****

The cave was cramped, what with a human male and a lake monster in it.

Josh crept around to Nessie’s head, removing the breathing mask as he did so, his eyes examining her even though he really had no idea what he was looking for.

In the back of his mind, he figured he should have been a little mad at Toshiko hiding the fact that she had magic.  Really, though, he couldn’t blame her.  They all had secrets; no one would ever know the complete and utter truth about each other.  Besides, they’d only known each other for a couple of weeks, not counting the passing acquaintance back when he’d been hunting the dragon he now knew was Ianto Jones in Cardiff.  While she hadn’t said anything, maybe she’d been holding it against him, that he’d been trying to catch her boss and, from all appearances, her best friend?  At least she’d put that aside in order to get him to where Nessie was.

He was extremely worried about Nessie.  He’d reported in what he’d discovered, and now had one task: to try to get her back up to the surface, so they could do this surgery thing and replace the bad node before it killed her.  He didn’t want her to die; he might have just met her, but Josh considered Nessie a treasure, and he would do anything to save her.

Her eyes were closed, but they cracked open as Josh moved around to the front of her snout, removing the air mask so she could see who’d just managed to sneak up on her.  The last thing he wanted to do was spook her; there wasn’t enough room in the cave to swing a cat, not with her lying inside, and Josh himself was considerably larger than a cat.

Josh could see his reflection in her eyes, and his heart began to hammer in earnest. Not in fear, although he was standing in front of a lake monster who was supposed to have been mythological so that should have caused at least a modicum of fear in anyone in their right mind.  No, this was something else, wonder and excitement and a fierce love of the creature that was so helpless before him. 

There was fear there, as well, but it was because he was afraid they were going to lose such a singular being, and that was the last thing he wanted to happen.

Nessie gave that odd purring roar, only it was considerably weaker than it had been yesterday.  Josh took that to mean she remembered him…or, at least, he hoped it did, and that she was glad to see him.

He rested his bare hand – he’d removed his gloves in order to check her side – on Nessie’s snout.  She snuffled against his palm, and his heart melted just a little bit more.  “I can’t believe you exist,” he murmured in awe.  “Now, we just need to get you out of here.”

That was when he remembered that he’d left the comm in his ear turned on, which meant everyone up top had just heard that.  Josh flatly refused to blush.  “I’m gonna try to convince her to leave on her own, but if I can’t or if she’s unable to do it…is there a back-up plan?”

There was silence for a moment.  _“My power will let me move a great deal of earth,”_ Toshiko said, _“but I don’t dare use it to burrow down to you.  I wouldn’t want to hurt either of you by falling debris.”_

“Yeah,” he said dryly, “I’d hate us to get hurt by falling debris, too.”

She chuckled, which Josh counted as a win.  _“Just do the best you can.”_

He stifled the sigh that wanted to escape.  He wasn’t about to do anything less.  “Copy that.”

Josh stared into her eyes.  They were cloudy with pain.  He really hoped she could understand him because about the only thing he could do was talk to her, convince her to leave her ice-cold cave and go to the surface, where her friends were waiting to take care of her.

But he’d promised Sir Archie to do his best.  The Scotsman might not particularly like him, but Josh was still going to do his utmost best to keep his word.  Nessie is special, and deserved to live.

“Hello, sweetheart,” he greeted warmly, keeping his hand on her head.  “I know you’re hurting and don’t want to move right now, but you’ve got people who love you up on the beach, and they just want to help you get better.  You need to go to them, okay?  One last burst of strength, that’s all it will take.  So, what do you say?”

Nessie blinked at him and, in that moment, he knew she was listening.  She might not get every single word, but this was an intelligent creature, one that had survived being used as a weapon of mass destruction and being stranded on a world not her own.  She’d been taken in by people who loved her, despite her past, and now she was thriving here.  This was just one bump in the road, and it was fixable.

It didn’t stop him from being angry at UNIT and the Doctor for abandoning her.  He’d read the files about the original incident, and knew that no one had bothered to check up on Nessie once the entire thing was done and dusted.  They’d only assumed she’d be fine back in the loch…if she’d actually returned, which hadn’t been certain.  It was only by the grace of the villagers, who were willing to accept the monster that had ravaged their homes, that had taken care of her that had most likely kept her alive.  Having no love for UNIT – Josh had heard about how they’d stiffed Angus MacRanald for their stay at the inn – someone in the village had managed to get in touch with Torchwood, and Sir Archie had come down to look into the matter.  Sir Archie, seeing Nessie for what she was, hadn’t reported her to Torchwood One, instead hiding her presence in the loch and using his own resources to protect her.

Josh really respected the hell out of Sir Archie.  Which was another reason he’d do everything in his power to help Nessie out.

He couldn’t help the rather silly grin, when he noticed her watching him.  “There you are.  So, what do you say, gorgeous? You wanna get out of this place and let us make you better?”

Nessie shifted, but she couldn’t go far.  Her sides heaved as she took in a deep breath, then she flinched as pain must have flashed through her from her injury. 

Then, she settled back down, her eyes sliding shut, not moving.

Josh’s heart plummeted.  He’d been excited when Nessie had attempted to leave, but now… “She might be too weak,” he reported.  “I’m gonna sit with her for a bit, and try again.”

_“Doctor Gates…Josh…”_

He blinked, because that was the very first time Sir Archie had called him by his first name.  “Yeah, Sir Archie?”

_“I…thank ye for doing this.  Nessie means more to me that I can put into words.”_

“I know she does, and don’t worry…I haven’t given up yet. And, if something does happen,” the sudden lump in his throat threatened to choke him, “I’ll stay until…”

There was an audible sniffle over the comm.  _“I appreciate that.  I dinna want her to be alone.”_

“Never, Sir Archie.  I swear it.”

There was a strange, almost-hum in the air, and Josh could have sworn he felt static tingling against the exposed skin of his face.  It was almost as if something had heard his promise and had ratified it, something beyond this world, and in that moment he realised he’d had his first true brush with how dragons saw Vows and Pacts. 

He’s just made a vow to stay with a dying lake monster.

That…was wildly appropriate, really.

_“I think, after all this, ye can call me Archie.”_

Josh smiled sadly.  “Alright…Archie.”

He rubbed a hand across the smooth hide of Nessie’s snout, not bothering to hide the fact that he was weeping, although it was silently. 

“C’mon,” he coaxed, knowing how wrecked his voice must sound to those listening on land, “I _know_ you can do it.  You’re not about to die in a cold, dark cave under Loch Ness!  You’re stronger than to give up.  Nessie…you don’t deserve this.  Please…please, let’s get out of here.  I’ll be with you, every stroke you swim.  I won’t leave you alone for a second.”

Her eyes opened once more, and Nessie snorted, blowing hot air on him that smelled a little like fish.  Once more, she began to move, but this time it was to slither slowly backward, as if sliding toward the entrance of the cave.  It was on a downslope; about a third of her body was already in the water, and Josh knew it really wouldn’t take much to get her all the way out and into the open loch.

“That’s it,” he encouraged.  “A little at a time.  If it hurts, take a breath, but please don’t stop.”

 _“What’s happening?”_ Toshiko wanted to know.

“She’s moving.  She’s trying to leave the cave.” 

Josh stood, grabbing the diving mask from where he’d hooked it to his belt, knowing he had to be ready in case she made it all the way out, putting his gloves on as soon as the mask was seated.  He didn’t want to leave her alone, not for one second, and planned to be right beside her as she ascended.

It was a little dangerous; he didn’t want to risk the bends, but Josh didn’t think he’d been down long enough or gone deep enough for that.  He’d also spent the majority of his time in this cave, so the chances of him getting decompression sickness was very slight.  He’d keep an eye out for symptoms; he’d gotten the bends once, back when he’d been a relatively new diver, and didn’t relish it happening again.

“I’m going to stay as close to her as I can,” he went on, his voice sounding a little hollow now that he was on canned oxygen once more.  “I’ll let you know if anything happens.”

 _“We’re ready for you,”_ Toshiko said confidently. 

Josh didn’t say anything.  He was concentrating on Nessie and her painful and ungainly movements to get out of the cave and back into open water.

It seemed to take forever, but eventually the only part of her still in the cave was her enormous head.  Her eyes were watching Josh, pain washing through them, and he took one last opportunity to touch her snout.  She let out that purr/roar that signified that she was happy, and then fully submerged.

Josh was right behind her.

The visibility was abysmal.  The light from his wrist lamp only showed a few feet ahead, and he very carefully kept it from shining in Nessie’s eyes as she slithered backward out of the rather tight passage and back into the loch.  The last thing he wanted was for her to be as blind as he was in the dark water and the muck that their movements were scraping up off the cave floor.  After all, to be honest, he was hoping she would lead him back to shore.

“Archie, can you activate your signal again?”

 _“Aye.”_ The joy in that single word was palpable, and it made Josh smile. 

In seconds, a warbling noise sounded through the water.  It was quite different from hearing it in the open air, which of course made sense, but it was still quite noticeable to Josh as he joined Nessie outside the cave entrance.

Nessie was waving her flippers slowly, hovering in front of him, as if waiting for him to join her.  Josh swam up next to her, putting a hand on her neck and, as if that single touch was a signal to her as much as the sound from above, she turned her nose toward the surface and began the laborious swim up toward the air.

She was moving slowly, so it was easy for Josh to keep up with her, trusting her to know the way.  The flippers on her injured side weren’t moving at the same rate as the others, and she seemed to sway back and forth, trying to keep in the correct direction. 

Josh was desperately worried.  But, Nessie was still moving, and he moved with her, making sure she kept up her forward momentum.

He reported her crippled appearing movements.  “It’s just painful to watch, and I can’t do a thing to help her…”

That, though, he suspected was a fallacy.  That his very presence was what was keeping her heading toward the source of the summoning device, which was still ringing through the loch to guide them on.  She’d only met him yesterday, and yet Nessie was trusting him to be with her as she swam, determination to make it evident in every painful twitch and motion she made. 

No, this wasn’t a stupid animal that had just happened to have made the loch its home.  This was an intelligent creature, and she was giving it her all to get to the surface because Josh had convinced her to.  That loved ones were up there, waiting for her, to help her get better. 

Josh Gates had had people follow him before, but they’d been paid to do it, or else it was the love of adventure that had them going along with him.  Never, in his entire life, had he had someone do that because they trusted him.

It almost made him stop breathing, he was so amazed and awed by the very notion that Nessie was doing this on his word alone.

The water was getting lighter, and before he knew it, Josh was breaking the surface next to a floating Nessie.  The poor thing was obviously exhausted, but he tugged on her nearest flipper to get her to move just that few more feet toward the shore, where he could see Archie, Toshiko, and Oscar – and what looked like the entire village of Tulloch – waiting for them.

Nessie began to propel herself sluggishly forward, and Josh swam beside her, not leaving her side for a single second.

 

 


	10. Chapter 10

 

**_10 June 2012_ **

**_Torchwood House_ **

**_Aberdeenshire, Scotland_ **

****

_“And how is Nessie doing?”_ Jack asked from the wall monitor in Ianto’s office.

Ianto was smiling.  “She’s doing fine.  The replacement took a little more effort than we’d thought, but both Toshiko and Oscar – with a little help from FitzSimmons – had things well in hand.”

Toshiko blushed a little, but she was pleased by the affirmation of her abilities.  They’d arrived back at Torchwood House just that morning, after spending ten days in Tulloch monitoring Nessie’s progress.  She and Archie had reported to Ianto immediately, letting Oscar and Josh go off to whatever they’d wanted to do; Josh had headed up toward the main computer room, where Penelope was, and Toshiko did wonder what was up with _that_.  It wasn’t as if she didn’t have access to the records of whoever was using the sub-wave, and she’d noticed that Josh had called Penelope nearly every night they’d been at Loch Ness. 

She was going to keep an eye on _that_ particular development, and cheer it on if necessary. 

“The node was on the verge of crashing,” she explained.  “If we’d waited another day…Nessie wouldn’t have survived, the node was far too degraded and was randomly sending electrical pulses through her anterior nerve clusters.  It was only a matter of hours before the short would have caused a cascade along every inch of her nervous system.”

“If it weren’t for Josh doing what he’d done,” Archie put in, “we would have lost our girl.”

The Scotsman had become quite the fan of their newest recruit.  It was a really big turnaround from the man who’d questioned Jack and Ianto both about hiring Josh in the first place.  But, Josh had done what they’d all thought was nearly impossible: he’d gone down into that cave and had convinced Nessie to come out, so they could help her.  Toshiko sincerely doubted any of them would have been able to do that, not without her having to use her magic to cause catastrophic damage to the loch’s coastline in order to get to that cave, which would have brought all sorts of attention down on both Tulloch and Nessie.  Which none of them needed.

 _“Then I’m glad he showed up on our doorstep,”_ Jack commented, barely keeping the smugness out of his tone. 

Archie crossed his arms defensively.  “I’m allowed to have my doubts, Jack.  And ye canna say they weren’t valid.”

“They were,” Ianto agreed, without acrimony.  “However, you should have trusted that Jack and I would have considered them in our decision to hire Josh in the first place.  Besides, he’d kept Torchwood secrets for years before approaching us.”

“Aye.”  Archie deflated.  “Ye’re right, of course.  It was just the idea that ye’d hired a _television presenter_ …”  There was such disgust in his voice it had both Jack and Ianto laughing.

“I was the same way,” Toshiko admitted.  “I wasn’t sure about it, but for me it was the idea that he’d originally come to Cardiff to hunt you down, Ianto.  You’re my best friend and, to me, that was an insult.  But,” she took a deep breath, “I was wrong.  Josh proved himself by going into a potentially dangerous dive in order to save Nessie, without any thought to his own safety beyond the functioning of this equipment…his _borrowed_ equipment, which he hadn’t been familiar with.  If there was an award we could give for that sort of bravery, I’d put him up for it.”

“He’ll have to settle for a commendation in his file,” Ianto said. 

 _“Already done,”_ Jack put in, giving her a knowing look.  If she hadn’t already been convinced all this was a part of his plan to get Toshiko to accept Josh into their family, it would have been confirmed just then.  _“Patrick is now practically salivating to get Josh on his team.”_

“That was a foregone conclusion,” Ianto added.  “We were expecting him to choose London, although I can’t say I’m not disappointed he isn’t going to stay in Cardiff.  We could certainly use him.  Or Clint, but we all knew he was going to London from the moment he resigned from SHIELD.”

This was true.  So far, all of their efforts had really gone into getting London up and running, and to prepare Torchwood House for the last of the UNIT Archives toward the end of next year.  Cardiff, while still the headquarters of the Torchwood Institute since One had fallen, was considered a bit of a backwater, not needing the large teams that London did, since that city was such a prime target for all sorts of alien invasions.  Cardiff was, as well, because of the Rift, but they’d always been easily handled by a smaller team.  Ianto and Jack were always looking to expand, however, but Toshiko was aware that the other two branches took priority for the time being.

“Although,” Archie mused, “I could try to convince Josh to stay here at the House.  He’d make a wonderful addition here.”

“That would also work,” Ianto allowed, “but I think our Josh is more of an adrenaline junkie than scientist, and wouldn’t last two months doing pure research.”

 _“He’s still a card-carrying member of the Explorer’s Club,”_ Jack pointed out. _“Which says more about his need to get himself into strange circumstances than anything else.”_

Archie had to concede that fact.  “Although I reserve the right to call him up if there’s ever another problem with Nessie.  She loves him to pieces.”

“He helped keep her calm for the procedure,” Toshiko said.  “The device I built worked to anesthetise her…to an extent.  I’ll have to work on it a little more, to get it up to snuff in case we do have another emergency like this one.”

“We might be able to adapt it to other aliens who have a resistance to Earth anaesthesia,” the dragon also suggested. 

“It’s on my list,” she confirmed. “Also on my list, is this Blue Angels thing Angus claimed about Josh.”

Ianto was nodding.  “I’m interested as well.  I seem to recall hearing something about that in one of the stories my Tad used to tell, but it wasn’t until Penelope brought it to my attention that it came to mind.”

 _“Sounds like alien influence to me,”_ Jack replied.  _“It certainly wouldn’t be the first time that sort of thing has happened.”_

Jack was right about that.  And Toshiko couldn’t help but be very curious about it, in regards to their newest teammate.

“And I know Owen will want to see what he can figure out,” the dragon added.

“Oh, Josh is going to hate that,” Archie sighed.

“We’ll also see if we can figure it out by following other paths of enquiry.”  Toshiko already had some ideas.

 _“Good,”_ Jack said.  _“Now, I want you to take today, Toshiko, and then you and Josh head back to Cardiff.  Ianto, you’ll make sure the Royal Navy gets their diving equipment back with our thanks.”_

“Already taken care of,” Ianto said.  “And I’m also planning on speaking to Josh about getting our own gear for Torchwood, and to get a couple more of us trained on using it.”

Toshiko laughed.  “You might want to wait until dinner, Ianto.  I think Josh is going to be busy with Penelope for a bit.  They talked over the sub-wave all the time when we were in Tulloch.”

Her friend raised a single eyebrow.  “Josh and Penelope?  Really?”

Jack was laughing.  _“It wouldn’t be the first Torchwood romance.  And it certainly won’t be the last.”_

He had a point.  After all, the first _real_ Torchwood romance was present in the meeting, even if one of them was still in Cardiff.

“That would mean that Josh might not be as much a stranger to Torchwood House as all that,” Archie chuckled, looking pleased.  “And Penelope is a wonderful lass.  If that particular romance works out, they would be good together.”

“She might curb Josh’s more exuberant need to walk into trouble,” Ianto considered. 

“I’ll be planning on encouraging this sort of thing as much as possible,” the Scotsman promised.

 _“I never knew you were that much of a matchmaker, Archie.”_ Jack looked highly amused by the whole idea.

“Everyone deserves to be happy.”

“And Archie has a vested interest in that, ever since he and Kren finally got their acts together.”  Toshiko teased.  She had to admit, Archie and Kren _did_ make a striking couple, and the Cheem loved Archie as much as Archie loved her. 

Jack waggled a finger at them.  _“Just remember that Torchwood isn’t a dating service.”_

Archie put a hand over his heart.  “It never crossed my mind, Jack.”

_“Yeah, right.”_

Toshiko laughed at that.  Jack was possibly the biggest romantic in the Institute, which was such a change from the sharp, flirtatious man she’d met while in that UNIT prison, so long ago.  Ianto had mellowed him, that much was obvious.  Now, the immortal was more like the father of the Torchwood Institute, and it was a perfect fit.  Yes, she knew in the back of Jack’s mind was the ever-present knowledge that he’d lose them all – except for Ianto, Great Dragons willing – someday.  But now, he was more willing to show how much he cared, instead of pushing them all away in the mistaken attempt at keeping them at arms’ length out of a sense of his personal, emotional, survival. 

_“Now,” he went on, “I’d like to speak to Ianto in private.  Give everyone my regards, and we’ll have our usual bi-weekly meeting this coming Friday.”_

Toshiko smirked, but didn’t say anything.  It wasn’t as if she didn’t know what the two of them would get up to.  After all, the mates were now physically separated for months at a time, and took whatever opportunity they could to reconnect…even if it meant cybersex.

Still, she said goodbye to Jack and, accepting Archie’s offered arm – because he knew exactly the same thing that Toshiko did as to what Jack and Ianto were going to get up to – they left the office, making certain the door was shut behind them. 

“How about joining me for a scotch in my own office?” Archie asked.

Toshiko had a few things she wanted to do while they were at the House, and she also wanted to call Kathy over the sub-wave, but they could wait for a little bit longer.  “That sounds lovely.” 

“Excellent.  Because I’d like to discuss with ye this whole matchmaking thing…”

She couldn’t help but laugh. 

 

 


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And this is the end of this story. Starting Thursday I'm going to take a little break from the Dragon-Verse in order to post the sequel to "The Wizard and the Void", titled "The Hunters and the Prey". All 76 chapters of it. It's huge. 
> 
> But, this also will give me a chance to get more Dragon-Verse stories done. Currently, I'm working on my version of the Framework storyline from Agents of SHIELD. I wanted to post other SHIELD Dragon-Verse stories before I posted anything else, but the stories I have done - and the ones I'm working on - are sort of sequels to each other (I've written aftermath stories for both "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" and "Captain America: Civil War", as well as a fic that takes place after the Doctor Strange movie, because Mordo comments that the Ancient One was Celtic so my mind went there. You cannot tell me that the Ancient One wasn't a dragon-friend.) So, after "The Hunters and the Prey" I should have a bunch more Dragon-Verse stuff to post. Hopefully, also a Thirteen story in the Future-Verse. *grins*

 

 

**_10 June 2012_ **

**_Torchwood House_ **

**_Aberdeenshire, Scotland_ **

****

“– and I haven’t come up with anything more on the Blue Angels front.”

Penelope was apologetic, but Josh didn’t think she needed to be.  “It was a longshot.  Did you send word to the coven yet?”

“Yeah, I contacted Ceridwen about it, and she’s gonna have their own Archivist go through their records to see if they’re some sort of spiritual or magical creature.  But, since they’re all handwritten, it’s gonna take a while.”  She leaned back in her desk chair, sighing, regarding him over the rims of her cat-eye glasses, rhinestones on the arms twinkling in the light coming from the many computer monitors that made up Penelope’s workstation.  “I even spoke to Jemma – when she wasn’t busy helping out with Nessie – but there’s nothing in the SHIELD files about them, either.”

Josh couldn’t help it, he was disappointed, but it wasn’t Penelope’s fault.  “We might need to broaden the search a little.”

His friend looked intrigued.  “You have any ideas?”

Josh leaned forward in his own chair, resting his elbows on his knees.  “Maybe we’re taking ‘Blue Angels’ a little too literally.  Maybe it’s time to look into myths and legends that are only peripherally to do with _either_ the colour blue or angels.”

Penelope whistled.  “There’s a lot out there.  Just the Judeo-Christian stuff alone…”

“I think we can discount that.  I’ve done enough reading on that to know those angels could never be mistaken for being blue, nor have they ever messed with human evolution.”  He’d taken several Religion courses while studying for his degree, and he was pretty certain of his facts on that score.

“You have a point.”  Her expression turned pensive.  “There are also enough religions and cults out there that have angels involved in some way.  But I’m sure you knew that.”

He did, and said so.

“Let me expand the parameters a little, and see what I come up with.”  She grinned. “There’s nothing I like more than a bit of research.  Especially when I’m doing it for one of my new favourite people.”

No, Josh wasn’t about to blush.

He hadn’t meant to fall into the habit of calling Penelope every night while he’d been in Tulloch.  The first night, it had been curiosity to see if she could find out anything about Mr MacRanald’s little bout of the second sight he’d had on Josh’s behalf.  But, then he’d called her the next night to let her know about Nessie, and it had become nearly every night after that, during Nessie’s recovery time, while they all waited to see if her body would accept the new power node.  It had, and Josh couldn’t help himself in calling Penelope with progress reports.  It had turned into them talking about personal things, like Josh’s need to be discovering new things, and how Penelope had been a hacker before being recruited by the FBI.  They’d even talked about starting up an online RPG, which was something Josh had never done but had become interested in, just from her explanation.   

If Josh was being honest with himself, he thought he might be falling a little for her.

She wasn’t really his usual type.  Before meeting her, he’d been more into dating sporty types, women who would go hiking or mountain climbing or diving; more like tomboys, really.  Penelope was pretty much opposite that.  She _did_ share his need to understand things, though, and she was brightly intelligent and eager to help everyone around her, which were all certainly attractive traits in a person.  She also had such an upbeat personality, it was impossible not to be in a better mood just by talking to her.  Her disposition on life was refreshing and it raised his own spirits just to see her smile.  It was hard to believe that she’d once worked for the FBI doing research on serial killers.  That just didn’t seem like something she’d do.

Oh yeah, he was screwed.

“So,” she said, “you got any idea how long before you and Tosh are heading back to Cardiff?”

He shook his head.  “I’m guessing I’ll find out whenever she and Archie get out of the meeting with Ianto.  Probably tomorrow or the next day.”

“Then, you and I are going seize the moment and head into Aberdeen tonight.  There’s this great pub that serves the best food, and you need to decompress after that mission.”

That sounded like a fantastic idea.  “I do like haggis.”

She made a face.  “You are _kidding_ me.”

“Nope.  Tried it at The Fox, and it was really good.”  He’d been surprised that he’d enjoyed it so much.  Mrs MacRanald had been surprised, too, but very pleased. He thought she might have even wanted to adopt him as one of her sons, or something.  It had been really amazing. And he kinda wanted to tell his real Mom about it.  He had the feeling that they’d get along famously.

Penelope flapped a hand at him.  “That’s Maddie’s cooking, which is a step above anything else you could get.  You’ll only be disappointed after that.”

“I think you just want to keep me from eating haggis in front of you.”

“Maybe.  Or maybe I don’t want to kiss you while you have haggis breath.”

Josh’s heart swooped at that.  “So, this is a date?”

Penelope’s dark eyes were serious.  “If you want it to be.”

“Yeah.  I think I do.”

She smiled at him, bright and beautiful and very happy.  “Good.”

Yes, this was very good indeed.

 

 

_Fin_

 

 


End file.
